Dreams of Demons
by PurpleMoon3
Summary: sequel to Hinata's Little Black Book. Takes place approx. one month after prequel end. The remaining populace of Konoha is settling into the new system, while the ninja form new relationships and explore old ones. Meanwhile something brews in Sound...
1. A Comittee of One

**Dreams of Demons**

**"Passion makes the world go round, love just makes it a safer place." - Ice T  
**

**Prolog: A Committee of One**

Hinata ran the brush through her hair, humming contentedly as she looked in her small vanity. The mirror reflected a girl who carried herself with confidence, head held up and eyes bright. She had blossomed since the purge, with her teammates the first to notice. Naruto was the only thing that made her stutter now. He was the only person whose mere presence caused her heart to flutter.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata sighed happily as she subconsciously hugged the boar-bristle brush to her chest. Twirling around in the chair, her eyes darted past the curtained window. It was late, if the dark sky was any indication. Late enough so she might start one of her favorite activities?

The brush fell to the carpet; it's owner thinking about something other than keeping her hair soft and silky for the day _he_ might run his fingers through it. Hinata stepped over to the far wall, her hand feeling for the invisible catch that would open the way. The Uchiha were quite ingenious, but as they say 'pride cometh before the fall'.

She slid the hidden door open, and crept through the surprisingly wide hall. Two people would have been able to walk abreast with little crowding. Hinata's fingers swooped up and down in time with her steps as she hummed quietly. At last she arrived at her destination, and pulled back a panel with care.

The room was large, but not overly so. Hinata Hyuuga had agonized for hours on the best place for her Naruto. He needed more space than that small apartment, but she knew he would feel awkward if there was a sudden shift. It was difficult but the Uchiha manor had more variety than she initially suspected.

A set of windows and a glass door filled the east wall, leading to a plant decked balcony. Three bookcases had been positioned at various stations in the room, with an ivy engraved table not far from Hinata's hidden entrance. Two over-stuffed chairs had taken up residence in opposite corners. Directly in front of the girls pale eyes was a queen sized bed, just big enough for two people to cuddle comfortably.

Hinata stalked across the room, her footsteps muffled by the thick plush carpet. Her features relaxed as color tinted her cheeks. After weeks of exposure she was becoming better at controlling herself around the Uzumaki, but some things were hard to break. _Sometimes, it's hard to believe my Naruto-kun can turn into Oni-sama when he looks like that…_ Hinata mused as she took in his sleeping form.

A stray blonde lock fell across his face, and she absently noted he had gone to bed with wet hair again. It was a wonder he never got sick. Or was it? _Naruto-kun! If only I could get through to you! But your move so fast… you are always thinking ahead of me. How can I catch your attention?_

She brushed back his hair and giggled softly as he muttered about ramen and snuggled deeper into the blankets. The girl blinked at the comment and headed toward his personal kitchen. It wouldn't do for her Naruto-sama to run out of food.

Contrary to the bedroom, the kitchen had a hardwood floor. It was small in comparison to everyone else's but she didn't see him cooking eggs or anything of the like. Hinata opened the cabinets and made a mental note to order more shrimp flavor. Naruto had been quite vocal about his opinonion of the instant Miso flavor, it couldn't compare to Ichiraku's. _I will get that recipe! Then… then I can be the perfect wife for Oni-sama!_

Hinata shuffled back to the bedroom, casting another loving look to the sleeping boy. He seemed to be fighting even in his sleep, with one hand striking out and slamming against the headboard. The Hyuuga's eyes traced the faint drag marks Naruto's claws made, hunger evident. She wanted him, but didn't want to scare him away. They were so close. She was ready, and he was getting to be more and more comfortable and free around her. _The village, my father, they no longer stand in the way of our happiness. Soon, Naruto-sama. I'll be yours._

For a moment thoughts of certain pink haired kunoichi floated through her head; the girl who at one time could have been considered a rival for her love's affections. No more. Hinata had made sure Naruto was thoroughly disgusted with the traitorous woman.

The girl yawned. It would be sunrise shortly, and she had yet to sleep. With one last wistful look at the blonde angel she crept back into the concealed passage to her own quarters. _Soon Naruto-kun, soon._

* * *

Naruto woke slowly as sun warmed the room from the window. He yawned, knocking his alarm clock over as he stretched. Out of habit he reached for his night-cap, only to sigh at its absence. The gopher cover had been lost with the rest of his building. A chirping bird pulled the blonde from his depressing thoughts, as it signaled the start of new day. 

Something was different. Naruto sniffed the air, a habit that had snuck up on him sense the 'cleansing'. Hinata had pointed out that his senses were on par with Kiba's now, something that the dog user was happy about. Now the Inuzuka had someone to sneak off with and find new interesting smells. Naruto never thought that moss could smell like ramen.

Naruto threw off his covers, determined to find out what was different in his rooms. There was a faint lingering scent that he recognized but couldn't remember from where. It teased him and taunted.

_I'll find you, and when I do… _Spurred on with self-motivation, the demon container rolled out of bed. He landed on all fours, blue eyes wide awake and claws out. Naruto liked the smell. He honestly wouldn't mind keeping it in the room but the fact he didn't know what made it grated on the boy's nerves.

Naruto followed the scent to the kitchen, and back to his sleeping quarters, none the wiser about what was giving it off. He paced his room, not unlike a caged animal, while thinking of a solution.

Naruto is and always will be a simple creature. He makes no effort to hide his thoughts or feelings. He doesn't try to see 'underneath the underneath'. He sticks to what he knows. Naruto made a shadow clone.

"Hey, Boss."

"You! Where is the smell coming from?" Naruto asked, a clawed finger pointing in accusation at the newly made clone.

The copy waved his hands in panic. "I don't know! I only just got here!"

"Use your nose."

The clone paused to suck in a breath. Light red blossomed on his cheeks and he grinned. "That's nice. I think my life is complete."

"Yours maybe, but I want to find where it's coming from. Think!"

"Summon my brothers! Surely together we can come up with something." The clone suggested.

"Of course. I'm so smart." Naruto quickly created another five clones, as he didn't want to crowd the room. They sat in a circle, with the original Naruto heading the proceedings. "Now, my fellows, this is the case of the mysterious scent. We cannot find its origins, and thus we cannot discover how to get more."

The first clone nodded, and asked for those gathered to sample the air.

"Amazing.…"

"Makes me think of food…"

"Old man Ichiraku said we could have free ramen today!"

"Ramen!"

Naruto slammed his palm on the carpet. "Focus people! The smell! What is it."

The second clone leaned back, voicing his opinion. "I think number five had something with the food comment."

"Food… but not Ramen. Its… fruity."

"Fruit? Yuck."

"Not as bad as vegetables."

"But we are agreed? Some form of fruit?"

Naruto jumped up in excitement, startling his clones. "That's it! Strawberries! It smells like strawberries!"

The clones applauded their maker. One part of the mystery was solved. "But where is it coming from?"

In sync, all the Naruto's in the room closed their eyes and breathed deep. Silence filled the air. Slowly, ever so slowly, heads turned to the far wall.

"It's strongest over there."

"Meeting adjourned." Naruto dismissed his clones as he jogged over to the wall. His first thought was to Rasengan the wall, and break through. So he did.

The demon vessel coughed as dust and rubble flew up. He leaned down, for a moment doubting the decision to destroy, before seeing the tunnel reviled. Blue eyes darkened as the ninja stepped over the debris.

"I knew it! Sasuke you bastard! How dare you have secret passages and not tell me!"

EN


	2. Me, My Voice, and a Brat

**Me, My Voice, and a Brat**

**"Always forgive your enimes- nothing annoys them so much."- Oscar Wilde **

Orochimaru stretched out his new body. It was surprisingly flexible in comparison to his previous housing. He cracked his neck; shoulders moving back suggestively as he admired toned form. _"My, aren't you the vain one..."_ whispered a voice in the back of his head.

_This body is actually stronger than my previous, I commend you. Silence, I did what you asked. The contract has been fulfilled. _Orochimaru thought to the disembodied voice lurking in the depths of his consciousness. Sasuke would be arriving soon for his summoning lesson, and the snake sannin didn't want Gen'yumaru to be distracting him. While it was normal for something of the body's previous occupant to leave behind a signature, like strong personality traits, any sense of self vanished after he performed the one request he offered.

Orochimaru paused, the white paint he favored inches from his stolen face. Did he not release those still alive? Was the contract not complete? The only explanation was that he had somehow, impossibly, failed to fulfill the bargain. _"Don't be so surprised. No one is infallible. Besides, it's your jutsu that is the problem. Not the contract."_

"Impossible." Orochimaru hissed, dropping his brush with the action. He couldn't believe he was talking to a voice in his head. Rumors suggested his failing mentality, and he didn't want to add to them.

_"You think everything's all one plus one equals two. Well it isn't that simple. Not all plans work, things happen and your thing was me."_

_Why are you still here? The most you should be is a faint determination, a will to complete a task only adding to my own strength. Not, this._

Orochimaru could sense if not see the smug grin on his phantoms face. _"My will. It's something you underestimated. I've come to the conclusion while flitting around back here, that there isn't much to do. There is a calling to leave which I assume your past victims followed, but I don't. It is not a pleasant thought to leave my body in the hands of a snake."_

_So there's nothing you can do…_ Orochimaru once again took up his paintbrush, white cream smearing evenly across his brow. He ignored the protests of the voice, and the comments of acne and other inane things. A smaller brush was used to apply the violet eye shadow, a tradition of his family he had yet to grow out of. _Be silent._

_"I'll leave you, for now…Orochi-kun."_

A shot of adrenalin coursed though his current body as Orochimaru snapped the brush handle. That name, and the mocking tone, put both fear and anger in him. No one was supposed to know about, _that_. No one. Especially not disembodied voices.

"Orochimaru?" Asked a familiar bored tone.

The old man mentally berated himself. Sasuke had entered while he was absorbed in things best left forgotten. Shot, burned and six-feet-under. Yellow snake-like eyes passed by the splintered make-up handle on their way to focus on the power-hungry teen.

Sasuke had a wonderful body brimming with potential. Dark feathery hair spiked up in the back, and the loose robe reviled a smooth chest. His eyes held a slight ring of red around the pitch iris, testament to his Sharingan. The Uchiha had been training like a mad-man since his brother went postal on the clan, and the fruits of that labor were appealing. For a twelve year old who had yet to go through puberty his progress was amazing. _Soon Sasuke-kun, you and your Sharingan will be mine._

In a single motion Orochimaru twirled the broken wood around his thumb and launched it toward the youngest Uchiha. Sasuke, not expecting a sudden attack, barely dodged the missile. As it was he still acquired a cut and a lodged splinter.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, which suddenly shone red. "Ku, ku, ku, Sasuke-kun. A proper ninja should always expect an attack." _Not that I was._ "When you walk into a room what is the first thing a true shinobi does?" The gold eyed man quizzed his new apprentice. It had been surprisingly simple to override the garbage taught at the academy.

Sasuke dug a small sliver of wood from his cheek as he answered in monotone. It was obvious to Orochimaru that the boy was trying to conceal his anger. "Note all possible exits and block them. Prey cannot escape."

"And if your prey has a weapon in hand?"

"Disarm, disable, decapitate," His eyes returned to their blank normality as he calmed in the assurance of his answer. A scowl contorted his natural good looks much to Orochimaru's distaste. Once he had the body it wouldn't make that expression. It was a waste. "But that was not a weapon."

"Don't you know, Sasuke-kun? In the hands of a proper shinobi everything is a weapon." Orochimaru commented to save face. He rose from the chair, eyes filling with glee. Sasuke tensed in preparation for a battle, his hand reaching for the recently adopted blade at his back. A pointed fat tongue peeked out of Orochimaru's mouth. "I have a little news for you. About Konoha."

"Why would I want to know about those weaklings?"

"Just that, they have apparently died. From the reports your old teammate went insane and killed over half the village."

"Old teammate…Naruto?" Sasuke whispered in shock. The loud-mouth that always proclaimed he would be Hokage, destroy his home? It made no sense. The sannin chuckled as he shot forward, no where near his full power but enough to give the younger ninja a run for his money. Sasuke unsheathed the katana just in time to block the sword coming for his neck.

"Sasuke-kun. Keep your mind focused on the moment. Don't think about others, they only hold you back." The sword tipped tongue retracted.

The Uchiha grunted and his eyes turned cold, all emotion quickly buried. He jumped to the side, kicking at the man's face. Orochimaru easily blocked. _Still, I can't really blame him. After hearing about it from Kabuto, I nearly killed the messenger. _

END.


	3. Strawberries and Cream

**Strawberries and Cream**

**"The person is richest whose pleasures are cheapest."- Henry Thoreau **

Hinata rolled out of bed at the small explosion. One hand held a dagger that had been removed from underneath her pillow, the other charged with chakra. Her Byakugan activated, and she was surprised to see the familiar blue and red chakra signature of Naruto. Getting closer. He was coming up the hidden hallway, his chakra fluctuating in clear annoyance.

The Hyuuga bit her lip nervously. Would he be angry with her? Should she have told him about the connection between their rooms? Was that why he seemed so upset?

Hinata lowered her weapons as her ears caught mutterings beyond the wall. "Stupid Sasuke. Stupid 'holier-than-thou' attitude. 'Look at me! I had a bad childhood! My brother's crazy!' Bah. At least he had people to look after him. Bastard has no clue how awesome this house is. It would be a great place for hide and seek." The voice paused as if in thought. "Oh. A handle. Guess this means no Rasengan…"

The door slid open with a bang, how that was possible on oiled and sliding panels _designed_ to remain silent was anyone's guess. Hinata turned off her Byakugan before she was tempted to look too closely at some things.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata stuttered. The blonde boy turned to her, nose flaring as his eyes sparkled.

"Yes! Found it!" He exclaimed, thoroughly confusing the girl. She was taken by pleasant surprise when the demon vessel suddenly jumped over to her, his hands combing through her short locks. Hinata moaned. It felt soooo good. "Your hair smells like strawberries, Hinata-chan. Why?"

The Hyuuga felt herself melt against her idol, inhibitions lost to the amazing massage that was being administered. Naruto didn't seem to mind her leaning against him. He simply sat down and basked at the glory that was Hinata's hair as she sat in his lap.

"Mhhhh."

"Why does your hair smell like strawberries? Huh? Hinata-chaan."

With extreme effort of will the girl processed the question. It was Naruto-kun after all. _Strawberries? I never noticed…_ "It might be my shampoo. I think that's strawberry scented." Hinata slurred half-asleep. Naruto was warm, and she felt completely relaxed in his hold. It was strange, normally he would send her into near hysterics but now…

"Can I wash with it? I really like how it made you smell. It's just…" Naruto trailed off with a small chuckle as he buried his nose in her dark mess of hair.

A warning ping shot off in her head. Hinata felt her face heat. Something, however small, had depressed Naruto. "W-what's wrong Naruto-kun?"

"I know what strawberries smell like but I've never had any that smell as nice."

"Why not?"

"They old fruit lady only gave me 'leftovers'. Sometimes there was fuzzy green stuff on the stuff that tasted bad. I didn't like it."

"Well, she's dead now." Hinata uttered darkly. She _knew _that the old bat had hurt her love. She had witnessed the spitting and the claims that Naruto's 'demonic' influence would ruin her grapes, but she hadn't realized it was the woman's fault he disliked vegetables. So much made sense now! Ramen from Ichiraku's was probably the freshest thing he ate. No wonder he loved it so. "N-Naruto-kun, will you d-do something for me?"

"Yeah?"

"Every week, let's try out a new fruit or vegetable. I'll pick them out, j-just to be sure they a-are the best."

His hands stopped their work, frozen at the thought of ingesting the recommending food. Ever since he was little he had hated fruits and vegetables with a passion. Plants were evil. "No thanks." He said with a grimace.

"B-but…" Hinata trailed off. She was slightly worried about her crush. Didn't everyone need a balanced diet to grow properly? Naruto was shorter than average, and she didn't think of him any less for it, but some things needed correcting. "It's important. I worry about you…please?"

"Ahhh. Don't look at me like that." Naruto mumbled at her. She blushed, and moved back while her index fingers twiddled around each other in nervousness.

"Um. If you try it just once…I'll give you my shampoo." She uttered, banking on her loves newest obsession.

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought. _Hinata is nice. She's really, really nice. (**And she smells good**.) Her eyes are kind of appealing… _"Okay. But lets to try strawberry first! Like you!" He smiled as Hinata felt her eyes widen and blood still. It wasn't quite sure which way to go. "On the condition you taste whatever first."

"T-there's s-s-some in the f-fridge." She walked to her fully stocked kitchen in a daze. Naruto followed close behind, savoring the aroma that was Hinata.

The short haired girl nervously pulled out a bowl of strawberries, but before she could close the door to the fridge Naruto poked his head in over her shoulder. "Hey! What's that stuff? I haven't seen it before."

An innocent container of whip cream stared at her. Hinata didn't remember why she had that. _Was I planning to make pudding? _"It's whip cream."

"I heard Sakura talking about that once. It's supposed to be sweet right?" He reached past her and grabbed the bowl. "Let's mix them, that way if the strawberries are bad it won't be too terrible."

"Naruto-kun!"

The blonde demon vessel easily popped the lid and swipped some plump red fruit from the bowl in Hinata's hands. The girl attempted to take the now thoroughly pink mixture from the boy, only to find herself pinning him to the ground and a spoonful of sweet fruity goodness in her mouth.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Hinata sighed happily despite the bits of red and white decorating her form. Her dreams had plenty of material to work with now. Naruto was lying down, his head resting in her lap as she dropped the small fruits into his mouth. It was bliss, and she could have stayed that way forever. 

Naruto hummed to himself between strawberries. Distantly, he remembered a fantasy similar to what he was now experiencing only it was Sakura who was supposed to be handing him food. And ramen. There was ramen in place of strawberries.

A small blast of Kyuubi chakra shook him from thoughts of _her_. The pink haired witch that served only the bastard traitor didn't deserve anything. (**_That's right, boy. You keep thinking that…_**)

On the wall, an antique clock chimed to announce another hour. The blonde listened to the crystal dings, counting them absently. After completing their proclamations, something clicked in his head. Naruto shot up, head swiveling about. "Aww man! I promised Kiba I would meet him at the gate for morning patrol."

Hinata pouted slightly but didn't protest. Several of the hidden villages had been sending 'spies' to gather intelligence on Konoha and only the informal patrols Tsunade and Jiraiya had set up kept anything vital form being learned. At the moment the training of the civilian populace was still a secret, and for some reason Tsunade and Shikamaru wanted to keep it that way.

Naruto ran toward the still open passageway, but skid to a stop. He turned abruptly, eyes boring into Hinata's. "Hinata…"

"Y-yes?" His bright blue eyes took on a mischievous tint. Her heart fluttered.

"You have some cream on your cheek." Faster than she could follow he swooped down, tongue brushing against her cheek. Seconds later he disappeared back into the passageway, cursing about picking up unsavory habits.

Hinata raised one hand to her cheek, a small trickle of blood coming from her nose.

* * *

Neji smiled knowingly from his vantage point in the hallway. He leaned against the wall facing a door bearing a sun shaped plaque with Hinata carved into it. His original plan was to fetch his cousin so they could go over the training schedule of the remaining branch Hyuuga, but the new development prompted re-thinking. 

For years he had known that Hinata-sama liked one of the boys in her class, but he had assumed it was Sasuke Uchiha. After the chuunin exams he realized his error, but now were the affections being returned?

He shoved his hands in his pocket and walked off, making a mental note to find Ino. The girl probably still had wedding magazines from her infatuation with the Uchiha. He would need some of those. _All I have to do is get it though his thick head._

END.


	4. Bureaucracy

**Bureaucracy**

**"In politics, an absurdity is not a handicap."- Napoleon Bonaparte **

Tsunade's gaze swept over the gathered crowd, numbering just over one hundred, who decided to attend the meeting. It couldn't have been much more than a forth of the village, but they would grow. And so would her headaches. If it wasn't for the small bottle of Sake at the edge of her desk she would have left screaming an hour ago.

"You can't really expect the Lord of Fire country to keep giving us funds." An old woman said from her seat near the back. She leaned on a cane, her eyes twinkling. "Since the coup the shinobi have made dead sure little information has leaked. While I agree busy-bodies shouldn't know about our business, it has no doubt sown seeds of doubt and mistrust in the ruling body. How can they depend on a military force that decimates its own ranks?"

Hinata could be seen blushing furiously from her seat closer to the front. Though clever, the girl hadn't factored in loss of commissions from the Lord of Fire. It was now coming back to haunt her.

People began whispering amongst themselves. With the serious reduction in jobs from the surrounding countryside, courteously of the rigorous weeding by Ibiki, the issue raised was grave. Most of the remaining population were ninja, and civilians rapidly grew to be proud of their skills and positions. There was little else besides missions to bring new income.

"What are we going to do?! Become a village of bandits?" One woman cried hysterically. She loved her home, but the thought of bringing dishonor to her family resulted in a death grip on her katana.

"There's no way we can defend against a direct attack with our current numbers. Nor can we support further growth. We're stuck." A former ANBU sighed. His mask was missing, abandoned at the end of ranks, but the familiar sword remained at his back.

"Not necessarily." Quiet came over the murmuring crowd. A middle aged man with a red and white hat, normally referred to as old man Ichiraku, rose from his seat to address the crowd. "I have some contacts in Wave country still, and it wouldn't be hard to start up a… lucrative… trading business. The profits generated from it could easily support the city, with the proper organization."

Tsunade sipped her Sake, there was something about the way the seemingly innocent man said that last part that disturbed her. "Explain this 'lucrative' business, Teuchi-san."

"Of course, simply put the drug trade of Wave is infamous yet profitable. This is because the environment is ideal for growing certain types of plants. The proximity of some of the islands to Konoha isn't that bad. If the growing is done on those islands, processed here, and then shipped out from a close port…"

Tsunade didn't like the implications. She may not be Hokage anymore, but her voice still carried much weight. Her concerns however, were already being voiced by others. A young woman with brown hair in spiked pigtails, her daughter sitting next to her armed with a sling-shot, rose. "I won't have my children becoming drug-addicts!"

"I second that. If this, _business_ is allowed to work what will happen to the children? It's a poison that shouldn't be allowed past the gates."

"Are you sure?" Asuma asked from his chair, blowing out a cloud of smoke. His pupils dialated as he inhaled. "There are various medical uses for 'outlawed' drugs. Tsunade-hime?"

The blonde woman closed her eyes. "It is suspected that smoked marijuana can help with the medical condition of glaucoma, appetite loss, and general pains." She stared down at the puffing former jounin. _So that's what your doing._

"Thank you." Teuchi spread his arms in supplication. He wanted this, he had gotten out long ago but now the chance to return and fix the shit his successor Gatou had done was too tempting. All it would take was a little convincing. "Supplying the hospital with medical herbs would be entirely voluntary; the staff can decide what will be cultivated."

A darkly dressed teen in the back jumped up in joy. "Wooo-hooo! Free Opium baby!"

"Sit-down! You're embarrassing me!" His girlfriend blushed while cleaning her nails with a dagger.

Iruka decided he would have to take charge before the meeting degenerated into chaos. He stood, took a breath, and performed a jutsu that forever made him a legend among his students. Flames jumped in his eyes as he slammed his minute notebook down, gaining the fear and attention of all present. "All those in favor of allowing Teuchi-san to control the legal drug-trade?"

Many people stood, several girls giggled happily at the prospect.

"Those opposed?"

A significantly lower number of people stood. Still others remained sitting, undecided

"Motion passed." Iruka turned to the ramen chef and pulled out a notepad. "Is there anything you require? Things we should know?" The two men walked out to discuss the future. Iruka could be trusted to look out for the interests of the village.

Iruka arched an eyebrow at some of the suggestions made. Teuchi meant well, he was sure, but so many chemicals could be dangerous. The cost of building secure facilities for the processing would be considerable, and no one could keep a determined shinobi out. If the genin became addicted to the stuff…

"We'll be careful, Iruka-sensei." The old man smiled over a steaming pot of ramen. "There isn't as much danger as you would think. Those that actively participate are much less likely than those who don't to overdose or became irepairably addicted."

"If you say so…" The teacher replied hesitantly. "If we hire out, the buildings can be done in a month or so. But with the current situation, secrecy is key. I'm afraid we only have those in the village to help with construction."

The man leaned back and took of his chef hat, his countenance held a smile meant to be disarming. "We could make it a long-term mission to be done at the ninja's convience. A constant income would be appealing, don't you think? Preferable to pay upon the completion of missions." Iruka was weakening. But he didn't want to let the former mafia boss turned ramen chef have full reign, but everything was planned out and made sense. The younger, restless genin would love to have something to do. "Then of course, there's a my own mission I'd like to hire out for."

"Oh?"

"I need to visit some old partners in Wave, and will require and escort. Preferably someone who can remain calm in all situation. And look secretive. It'll intimidate the fish. I would expect it to be equal to a 'B' class, possibly higher but unlikely."

* * *

Tsunade was about to call the meeting to an end when a little girl shot a flash bomb at the ceiling with her sling-shot, quickly silencing the crowd and gaining attention. "I'm sorry. But I've had my hand raised for a loooong time." She calmly used a chubby hand to brush her bangs back, revealing hungry brown eyes. Stunned silence controlled the room as people lowered their weapons. "Thanks! We'll, I've been thinking, and I have an Uncle who's in ninja prison. Can he come out?" 

"That's perfect! There are tons of old shinobi in that place. If we can convince them to help us-" One man said excitedly.

"Idiot. Have you forgotten _why_ they are in there. Mass murders!"

"Don't you think that's a little hypocritical?" the old lady from before replied.

"Why don't we just ask them to help us?"

"I've been keeping it running, and I can say more than half of the people imprisoned would jump at the chance to leave." A bespectacled woman sighed tiredly. The small amount of ash in her hair paid testament to the volcanic workplace she frequented.

Jiraiya leaned back as the debate went on. He could already see how it would end. Someone would be nominated to interview the inmates, they'd be offered citizenship with stipulations, blah blah blah. _There are more important things in life. Like…what does that woman look like in a bikini? Hehehe._

END.


	5. Say You Love Me

**Say You Love Me**

**Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age. -Jeanne Moreau **

Inochi moved quickly toward Konoha. Rumors had reached him shortly after completing his mission, the assassination of a diamyo in Bird country. Incredible amounts of smoke were seen rising from his home city, despite the tree cover that should have blocked anything from view. No news had left, though the smell of blood and ash drifted down.

The shinobi feared the worst. Inoshi normally would have taken over a squirrel, or some other inconspicuous woodland creature, but the chance of his body being discovered and killed while he was scouting the situation… _I could be killed by a common villager even if there is nothing wrong. Damnit. Yamanaka's always travel in pairs, just for this reason. Hold on Ino-chan._

Caught up in his internal berating, Inoshi didn't quite see the cloaked red eyes that followed his path. When the man disappeared from her considerable view, Kurenai judged it safe to drop her genjutsu. She still considered herself 'rookie jounin', and knew confronting the high-strung ninja could prove disastrous. For both parties. _Retreat is the better part of valor. Isn't it? Misunderstandings comprise most of my life._

Kurenai waited for left over chakra to dissipate, then dialed a little-used number on her cell phone. Ninja's didn't use much more than radios, because chakra liked to create static on anything not short-range, but this was Nokia. The cell that used to only go out to ANBU, which is privately considered the reason they were always late. ANBU gossiped the worst and missed important calls.

"Hey, yeah. This is Kurenai. Hinata-chan, Inoshi is returning."

"Inoshi…he wasn't on the list. Hmmm. I don't think he'd agree with our methods. He doesn't like civilian bloodshed. He will need to be eliminated."

"I've only talked to him once, but he really cares for his family."

"What are you thinking, Kurenai-san?"

"Ino-chan. If she could meet him and explain before he gets inside the gates…"

"But she killed her mother. You heard the screams as fire licked her sides."

Kurenai frowned. Hinata put a bit more description into that than needed. When did her shy student leave? Maybe she never was, but nothing mattered. Hinata would always be Hinata, and Kurenai would watch over her. "If he truly loves her, it will not matter."

"…okay. I'll tell Tsunade-hime and call Ino."

* * *

Purple, simply put, was the best color of all. In the natural world it was elusive compared to the rest, and symbolized royalty. Ino loved all shades of it. That's why the walls her new room _glowed_ with it. Lavender walls were decorated with animal watercolors, mostly deer made by Shikamaru, and her bed lay under a thick purple and white quilt. A small end-table held up a bowl of crushed iris floating in water, with a flame beneath it to sent the room. 

The kunoichi rested on her bed, enjoying the feeling of belonging that came with the room. Her muscles grunted at her one attempt to move, still tired from yesterday's workout with Gai-sensei. Since she started training her speed and skill and increased by leaps and bounds and Ino was sure if she ever fought Sakura the traitor would be surprised. With a little extra concentration the blonde could hit concrete with enough force to make it crack. _Imagine what I could do to bones…_

"Ino-chan?" A soft whisper came from beyond the door.

The requested girl smiled, took a deep breath, and shouted: "It's open!"

Hinata stepped in, a slightly worried look on her face. "Ino-chan. You need to meet your father. He's going to be here soon."

Sore muscles vanished as if they had never been as the girl shot up, her pony-tail stinging her face as she spun. "Papa? He's back! What if…no." Ino clenched her fists and cleared her mind of negative thought. In. Out. In. Out. Breath. She had to keep her mind clear, like he taught her. "What is it?"

Hinata looked away. With her own sad family history she wasn't quite sure how Ino would handle this. Inoshi had a history of village loyalty. If he came back and saw what had happened, he might snap and try to attack them like the previous two returning jounin. Expendables they were, but this was Ino's family. _Family is important. Naruto-kun taught me that, but we can choose our family on merit. Ino cares about her father._ "Do you think you can talk to him."

Ino gave an inane smile. "She's not in the way anymore. Where is Papa?"

Hinata plucked a piece of lint from her sleeve. "He should be near entrance seven soon."

When the brilliant girl looked up her blonde friend was gone, and her weapons pouch no longer hung from the back of her chair. Ino moved faster in the minute it took to get to entrance seven than she ever did before. Deep in her mind, she recognized what would be going through her fathers head. Though she and the others had grown accustomed to the musty smell of blood and ash, Inoshi would get it full force.

Natural instinct would require that he take precautions, and assume the worst. That woman was always tip-toeing around him, avoid issues and sucking up. Father would be observant, and no doubt sense her coming. The question was, how would be react?

Ino bit her lip and launched herself into the trees, the absence of hair against her neck was worrying. That pony-tail had been a constant link and reminder of her father, but it had been lost during the battle with Sakura. Cutting it took more than Ino would ever admit. _Does he still love me? I have to reach him…I have to. _In desperation she channeled chakra to her legs, moving even faster. "He has to. He has to."

* * *

Closer and closer he came, the smell started growing stronger. It was the same smell that lingered on major battle fields, only muted. Distantly, Inoshi felt a bundle of wildly fluctuating chakra heading towards him like a bullet. His hands moved to form a seal, ready to ahnialate whoever it was, when it broke through the leaves. 

Her familiar purple outfit dropped his guard, snaking arms around his wait and burying her face into his chest. "Ino?" Inoshi stumbled from her sudden weight, wrapping one arm around his daughter and using the other to catch a large branch.

"Papa…" Ino muttered into her chest. _She's gone. She'll never take him away form me again! Papa loves me!_

"Ino-chan. What happened? Was there a battle? Who won? Are you okay?" Rapid fire questions flew from the disturbed man in a calm tone. He never cracked under pressure.

"Papa, say you love me." She sniffled, her blue eyes staring distantly up at her father. The man she wanted to make proud, who told her before he loved her for being Ino.

"Excuse me?"

"Say you love me, even if I did bad things."

Calloused hands cupped her face as he leaned back against the tree. "What is this? Of course I love you Ino. Where's your mother? Is she okay? What happened?"

Her face slackened at the mention of her mother, the woman that pushed her too far. That abused her. "Papa, I know. And I killed her." It was said with such finality and pleasure that Inoshi pushed her away, holding her at arms length.

"How could you…your not my daughter."

Fear sparked in her eyes. He had to love her. He always did before, even when she nearly poisoned the bully in elementary, and kicked the teacher in the balls. "Yes I am! You don't know what she did to me! What she did every week! Every day!" A single tear made it's way down her cheek. "You don't love her. She wasn't even your first choice. She told me that."

"That's-"

"A secret. I know. She was going to do it to me as well, arranged marriage to carry on the Yamanaka line. Find a 'proper young man' to support me. She used to drill me in wifly duties.

"I stopped it. I had to. She said I had to be thin to attract a good suitor. That's why I skipped dinner so much. It's not that I wasn't feeling well or didn't want to, she wouldn't let me. And that's not the worst of it."

Inoshi felt his resolve soften. He didn't want to believe what was coming out of the girls mouth, but she was his daughter. It was starting to make sense. All the things he contributed to being a 'girl' were not normal. The things his wife said to him were lies. _A wife's first duty is to make her husband happy and comfortable. I guess that included lying._

"Oh Ino…" He brought her back into a full hug, kissing her head as he did it. Her aura was different now. That old dark shadow was gone, 'teenage angst' it was not. "I love you. I will love you if the sun stops rising and the ocean floods the land. I will love you if blood is spilled from your hands. I will love you forever and always, for you are my daughter. I love you."

"Papa?"

"Yes?"

"Let's go home."

END.


	6. Hunting

**Hunting**

**There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.- Unknown **

Naruto moved slowly through the trees, alert and searching for his prey. Konoha's forest was hated by foreigners, but loved by the natives for one simple reason. It was huge. At night no light could penetrate the damp bottomless depths of it's interior, and during the day shadows cast could conceal a ninja better than any jutsu. For the shinobi that grew up with the trees, home field advantage was a very real and welcome trait. Naruto was no different.

Even as his heart beat raced, Naruto forced himself to calm down and think. The spy was somewhere around, Akamaru had picked up the scent and informed Kiba that an intruder was on the premises. The trail however split off in different directions and so too did their group.

_I don't see anything, but this smell. He was definitely here. Still is..._ Naruto growled low as demon chakra wormed its way through his veins. All around him color began to seep from the environment as his pupils became slitted. Textures came to the forefront, allowing the demon container to see things he would normally miss. Like the way those leaves were blending unnaturally. The shape of an unusually tall and muscled human faint against the random placement of foliage served as a beacon for the sensitive eyes. _Bingo._

Naruto reached into his pocket for his cell phone, wondering why he hadn't gotten one a long time ago. It made things so much simpler. Quietly he dialed Kiba's number, and didn't have to wait long before it was answered. "Kiba, target is ten miles east of the monument. I'm going to take him out."

"Him? No way! I called the next one and you know it fox-boy!"

"But you'll take so looong to get here." Naruto whined. After channeling the energy it needed an outlet. Random soon-to-be-dead ninja was the perfect target.

"No we won't. Five minutes. You can wait five bloody-"

"Scrusssh. Oh. You're breaking up. Sorry Kiba, got to go!" Naruto snickered and hit the red 'end call' button as he pulled various sebon out of his kuani pouch. The needles reminded him of Haku, a person who would always have a special place in his heart. _Haku...told me to fight for my precious people. But his precious person returned the favor. _

Naruto tapped his chin with a single needle. "Dog-boy won't mind if I make him easier to track, will he?" The ninja started to move, alerted by Naruto's vibrating pants as Kiba tried to call back. "No you don't!"

The sebon whizzed through the air to hit the targets neck, narrowly missing his jugular. Naruto followed like a demented squirrel, bouncing from tree to tree with a manic grin on his face and claws creating an unshakeable grip on the old bark.

The spy jerked the sebon from his neck while cursing as drops of blood trailed from the minor wound. He dodged the next barrage of needles, but was unable to avoid the human ball of energy that slammed into his torso began to stab him repeatedly with the pencil-like weapons.

Naruto moved fast in his efforts to do damage while staying out of the enemy's grip, but not fast enough. Eventually the shinobi yelled in pain and frustration as he started to free-fall toward an unhappy branch. Specks of blood flew from Naruto's mouth when they hit, his body squeezed between the ancient tree and the heavier ninja.

"You little shit!" Naruto winced as his face was punched in, but at the same time giggled internally as his shadow clones poofed into existence. In sync they kicked the spy up and away, none of them noticed Naruto's nose crunch itself back into place.

The blonde prepared to jump after his victim, when said person suddenly changed direction and rocketed down. As the falling progressed Kiba could be seen, foot extended in a familiar stance, dropping after the brutally mauled enemy. Naruto barely cleared the area as the poor soul crashed through the beaten branch, leaving several stains on the splintered ends.

Amazingly the person was still alive, though his movements were jerky. "Heh. Looks like you could use some help."

Unimpressed, Naruto crossed his arms as his eyes disappeared in his 'thoughtful' look. "You stole my move! The Naruto Rendan!"

Kiba stuck out his tongue, one foot in the back of the ninja they had been after. "Yeah, so. Why waste what you so generously set up?"

"But it's MY move."

"And you took the idea from Sasuke-teme. Admit it."

Naruto stood there like a fish, his mouth opening and closing. He had no replies to the truth. "Well, I...uh.."

Kiba couldn't take it anymore, the look on his friends face was priceless. He clutched at his sides as laughter erupted, accidentally digging into their injured foe's back-bone. Said ninja moaned in pain wondering why the village of Konoha was filled with kids, and why they had so much raw power. "D-don't worry about it, N-naruto." The dog-user struggled to get himself under control. "I-it's what we do, you know? Adapt other techniques to suit our needs."

"Yeah. I just never thought about it before...maybe you should uh, check the guys pulse. Aren't we supposed to 'question' before 'disposal'."

Kiba kicked the man over, while Akamaru circled the site on alert. "Oi. Is there anything we should know?"

"I don't think that's how you question an enemy..."

The older nin twitched his hands, only to discover half his fingers were broken. He wouldn't be able to use a jutsu to escape. _I'm not telling these Genin anything... _"Like I would break to some newbie genin."

Naruto gained a curious look as he tilted his head, still slitted eyes giving him a feral look. Kiba's own animalistic nature didn't help the matter. "Genin? Who said we were genin?"

Pure fear rushed through the man, so thick that with their heightened senses the boys could smell it. A red energy pulsed from Naruto, causing Kiba to look his way. "You're not genin?"

Kiba and Naruto flexed their hands, claws popping out threateningly. Kiba wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Did he just..."

"That's disgusting. Just kill him already before he loses anymore dignity." (**_But don't you enjoy the power. It's your choice if he lives or dies...the rush! Stupid boy! His dignity means nothing! Nothing!_**) Naruto felt odd. For a second he felt as if he had an out-of body experience. The dieing solider deserved a proper death, didn't he? But the old man invaded their territory of his own will and by doing so asked for a royal ass-kicking.

Naruto leaned down and jerked the man's head up as his fox like eyes bored into his victims searching for the answer. A stray beam of light pierced the leaves, striking a headband. "Hey Kiba. This guy is from the stone."

"So?" The dog-user took a kunai and gripped it, ready to slit the throat of the stone ninja; he still considered it his kill.

"If I think about it, out of the fifteen illegal foreign nin's we've killed, eight have been from the village hidden in the stone."

Akamaru said something, to which Kiba agreed, and told Naruto to take the headband. Naruto did so, wishing he knew dog-speech. _I bet I could learn something else! Kiba can talk to dogs, and Shino talks to bugs...toads don't count. They speak human. I'll have to find something else._

Kiba cleaned his kunai on the now dead Stone ninja's shirt. "We should tell Iruka-sensei."

* * *

The Tsuchikage frowned from his throne. His camouflage specialist had yet to report in using the communications scroll. Cold, granite eyes watched the blank roll of parchment passively. Strange things had been rumored to have happened in Konoha, the village that took their forces down to a third of what they were. The Yondaime Tsuchikage leaned back and sighed. There was yet to be any confirmation on what the Snake Sannin claimed. 

"It's obvious they have taken precautions against appearing weak, with two consecutive attacks Konoha's military force will be non-existent compared to ours combined." A yellow eyed man said. Behind him an expressionless boy stared ahead, as if he didn't care that he was privy to a war meeting.

"I apologize, Otokuo, but after the dismal failure of the Sand Sound invasion, you should see why I hesitate to commit many of my people. Konoha has a habit of surprisingly strong resistance." The Tsuchikage steepled his calloused fingers and waited for the response of his guest.

"_Yeah,about that. What kind of idiot attacks a Kage with no back-up? Loser! If he hadn't been older than dirt you would have lost more than those arms."_

_He was 'older than dirt', I didn't expect him to be able to put up much of fight. Besides I summoned the First and Second to deal with him._

_"And they lost. Why? Sarutobi learned from them, he knows they're best stuff. MORON! You would have done better to summon a different villages past kages!"_

Orochimaru sneered and shook his head. "There were, unexpected complications. The demon vessel released his control prematurely, among other things."

"And this great jinchuriki of yours was defeated by a genin, the lowest of his class."

Sasuke blinked and turned his attention to the wiry man sitting on a chair of stone. It rose from the ground as if the entire room had been carved out of the mountain. "Naruto has little to no skill, but don't underestimate his raw power."

"Ah. An interesting point Sasuke-kun. The Ichibi was defeated by the Kyuubi, it makes perfect sense."

"Kyuubi..."

The Tsuchikage laughed, the sound echoed around the room. "If it was the Kyuubi, then why would have any hope of taking the village? Not even a Kage can defeat a tailed demon, at least not without great sacrifice."

"There is a simple seal to lock the demon's power away, honored Tsuchikage. I had used it before to effectively shut the demon vessel down, only my old teammate Jiraiya's seal can nullify it. Distracting and disabling the Toad Summoner will be easy, leaving your revenge unprotected."

The Tsuchikage closed his eyes in contemplation.

END.


	7. It's Always The Quiet Ones

**It's Always The Quiet Ones**

**When it comes down to it, we all just want to be loved.- Jamie Yellin **

Shino watched his father Shibi rinse out his gourd. The man methodically wiped excess moisture from the cleaned container, only to have a swarm of insects rush back inside their home. Shino observed the parade of destruction bugs, feeling the small colony within him buzz a warning to the other. The young boy forced himself to relax and sent calming commands to his inhabitants, if he couldn't control the few hundred or so chakra eaters in his body father would hold him back from the academy. Again.

"Are you ready?" His father asked, adjusting the straps of his gourd. Shibi tapped his sunglasses to signal that Shino had yet to apply his. In the dim kitchen Shino nodded, his small hand fishing for the pair of glasses that would shield his sensitive eyes from the sunlight.

Father and son left the house, the former escorting the latter to the ninja academy. It was to be Shino's first day. Mother was off on another long-term mission so Shibi was doing the honors.

"You have all your supplies?"

Shino nodded. His heart warmed at the concern his father was exhibiting. Both of his parents often went on out of country missions, and didn't have much time for him. Any attention was a blessing, but he had to remain calm. If Shino became nervous or excited that would transfer to his 'allies' and it would be even more difficult to control them.

"Lunch?"

Shino held out his bento consisting of fried rice and vegetables with a small jar of watered honey for his bugs. As the two entered the village proper from their estate road, the whispers began.

"Is that the _Aburames?"_

"I thought they were to be gone for another month."

"Mommy say's that the man fed his son to _bugs_."

"I once saw the boy trying to talk to a grasshopper."

"My husband had to team up with one of them, said those bugs have probably eaten their souls."

Shino squeezed his eyes shut behind the dark spectacles. He didn't catch everything, but that was most likely a good thing. He had been called soulless by an old woman before, and declared a freak by the younger. It hurt, to know you disgusted the people you were taught to protect.

If Shibi noticed his son's discomfort he didn't say anything, but his hand moved to rest on the small shoulder. Shino's eyes darted to his father. Strong. He dad was always strong and smart. He didn't let anything or anyone break his cool. Shino drew from that, raising his chin a little higher and quietly marking the gossipers.

They didn't matter much, but they would need to be watched. Shino's colony thrummed, marching along and whispering its discontent. He could hear hundreds of tiny questioning voices. _Today, maybe it will be different. _

At the school gate Shibi stopped and turned to his son. In a rare display of affection he ruffled Shino's fluffy hair and smiled. "You're starting life as a shinobi now. Good luck."

"Thank you, father." Shino smiled back from behind his collar. He'd make him proud. Shino Aburame would be a world famous ninja, and everyone would respect the clan. The clan was important.

Raised by his allies as much as his parents, Shino wanted to make them both happy. His friends crawled beneath his skin, offering continuous companionship while his parents gave unconditional love and advice. Shino walked slowly into the building, hoping to gain new allies.

He paced down the hall, giving short bows to the various chuunin standing in the hallways to welcome the trainees. As his hidden eyes scanned the other students, Shino's heart fell; At least half were from civilian families.

When they saw his sunglasses and long coat, grimaces and whispers broke out. It was the same. _People fear what they don't understand. But fear is an unwanted emotion, so they turn it to hate._

It was with a slightly slower step Shino entered his assigned class. The chuunin in charge gave the Aburame a heartfelt smile, "You must be Shino-kun. Have a seat. I'll be your homeroom instructor until you graduate. Call me Iruka-sensei."

Shino bowed then started up the stairs. A girl with pink hair wrinkled her nose and whispered to the brunette sitting next to her, "The Aburame clan is famous for using _bugs_ in their fighting style." Girls inched away and boys looked on in half disgust and half fascination. Shino's bugs translated the subtle body signals of the intimidated students. He sighed. _At least the teacher is pleasant._

"Hey."

Shino glanced up from his musings. A boy with half-lidded eyes and a spiky pony tail was waving absently. It looked almost as if the action was too tiring to put any real effort into. Shino blinked behind his glasses and altered from his course. Perhaps the lone seat in the back was for someone else.

"Nara." Shino asked near monotone.

"Shikamaru," Shikamaru corrected. "This is Chouji."

Shino nodded to the boy snacking on potato chips and sat down. He didn't feel like talking and neither did his two new allies. It was nice just sitting together.

* * *

Shino panted as his few thousand bugs resumed attack on the spinning ball that was Chouji. The boy was getting close to a juggernaut status with his attack. Shikamaru and Tsunade had theorized that with proper chakra control, and if taken together with a special deer pill, Chouji might be able to use his family's pills again. It was a big if, but the Akimichi wanted to have those as a last resort option. 

So here they were, Chouji building speed and control with his meat tank attack. Shino's bugs were getting flushed under and out from rolling boy, as near visible chakra created a vacuum. Annoyed, he leapt into the air followed by Chouji, who came out of his spin and hurled two chakra laced shuriken.

The blue glowing metal ripped through part of Shino's jacket, at the same time revealing that the intended target was in truth a mass of destruction bugs. Chouji cried in dismay as he saw his foe disintegrate. When he landed, Chouji sighed. His pouch was missing. Shino won the sparring match. Again.

From the trees Shino walked out, holding the prized ninja pouch out to the loser. Chouji took it with a questioning look. "When my clone came apart, I had them briefly reform as they were passing by and take it."

"I hadn't thought about that." Chouji murmured as he dug out a roll. Both ninja were tired, but getting stronger. In an unvoiced agreement they headed back to the village.

Halfway there, a girl was running out to meet them. "Shino-san!" Her braided hair was hitting the broadsword on her back in rhythmic thumps. Shino recognized her easily as one of the civilians, her weapon odd yet fitting on her muscled frame. Her nose rounded off her features quite nicely, all in all he could see she was fairly cute.

"Yes?"

"Shikamaru-san and Tsunade-hime wish to speak with you as soon as possible." The girl leaned on her knees, a testament to her newness at hauling around large weapons. Shino wondered why she picked that particular blade if it was so much trouble.

"Good day, Chouji Akimichi." Shino nodded goodbye and jumped off.

"So. You need any help with that?" Chouji asked as Shino left. The girl eased up, shaking her head negative.

"No thanks. I need have to carry it myself if I'm ever going to be useful in battle." She bit her lip timidly and walked with the snaking boy. "Is it true we might go to war?"

Chouji glanced at the sky. "Possibly. There have been reports of several foreign nin…"

* * *

It didn't take long for Shino to reach the meeting place. Tsunade, he thought, was good looking by high standards and drop dead gorgeous with normal ones. Yet somehow, he didn't find himself attracted to her. It was confusing. He knew what he should want, but never felt anything. 

Shino stepped into the common hall. As he expected Shikamaru was lounging on a couch. The former chuunin glanced over at Shino. Something in those brown eyes spoke to the bug user, accepting him. Shino felt himself relax in the others presence. The Nara was always calm, and not out of necessity, but of choice. He maintained a level head in all situations, a key for all true strategists.

Shikamaru waited for Shino to take a seat, not knowing the concealed eyes never left him. Shino watched. His ally wasn't the most attractive male, but his mind more than made up for it. His family jutsu to attack with shadows, something normally intangible, was simply amazing.

Shino exhaled heavily as his bugs swarmed with his chakra changes. He could feel himself 'pulling a Hinata' as he blushed, and was grateful for the large collar that concealed it. _Why is this happening, again? He is male. I need a queen. Men do not yield progeny._

Tsunade burst open the door, her breasts swaying as always. Behind her, the ramen man followed to Shino's confusion. "Shino, you've been requested to escort Teuchi-san to the Mist as a B rank mission. Will you do it?"

Shino shifted his eyes toward Shikamaru, no doubt the one who decided Shino was best for the job. "Yes."

Tsunade smiled and held out a file. "This is suggested information for the mission. You'll be under-cover as a mercenary hired by Teuchi-san, AKA Old Man Ichiraku. Which, by the way, is the only thing you will be referring to him as during the assignment."

Shino flipped through the papers. "These are all different types of plants...what is this 'dro?'"

Shikamaru waved a hand dismissingly. "Just some hard facts and prices you'll need to know for Teuchi-san. What's more important right now is that you need a partner."

The old chef nodded. "Custom and protocol would suggest two. It's supposed to be a peaceful visitation..."

"Well then." Tsunade crossed her arms over the ample chests. "Shino has agreed. Who else would you like?"

"Heh heh. It doesn't really matter. The young Aburame fit's the stereotype close enough. He'll put them on edge."

Tsunade turned to Shikamaru, who sighed and picked up a pad and pen. "I'll post it on the mission list..."

Shino decided to follow the shadow manipulator. Maybe he would decide to come on the mission.

END.


	8. Demon Heritage

**Demon Heritage**

**Hang sorrow, care 'll kill a** **cat.- Ben Jonson**

The sound of wood hitting wood echoed in the training hall accompanied by labored breathing. Tenten expertly whirled the bo staff she was practicing with in her left hand, attempted a transfer to her right, and collapsed with a hiss. Beads of sweat dripped off her brow as her rubbed her pained wrist.

It had been quite a shock when Lee had shown up at her house, face strangely solemn as flames took the village. She had never seen wide eyes so vacant. Even when the green beast in training was being pummeled he was always filled with determination and an odd sense of well-being.

Lee had walked in, ignoring their burning surroundings and her questions. "No. More like demands." Tenten murmured to herself as she thought about the day Lee snapped her wrists. The fact he had apologized and even explained his reasoning for it only made things worse. It had taken two weeks to before the hospital staff let her out. Three broken ribs, coupled with _shattered_ wrists prompted several intense healing sessions.

She should still be wearing her right wrist brace, on account that her bones still slid out of place, but it kept messing up her spins.

Tenten sighed and applied a light ointment to her recovering wrist. It ached in protest at the rough treatment the weapons specialist forced on it, but Tenten wouldn't stop. _If Lee can train through pain…so can I. _Gritting her teeth, she slipped the wrist brace from her pouch and secured Velcro straps. A steady series of rapping sounds echoed as she pounded her target mercilessly.

_Lee was right, in a way. I should have… if only…words hurt more than anything. _The brunette girl jumped, her staff spinning at a blinding pace until it looked like one solid shield. Blood dribbled from her lips as she bit down on them in an attempt to distract her from her burning wrists. _I have to be faster! _

"Art of the Dragon Shield!" In a flash of yellow light, chakra rushed down her pain-wracked arms and around the wood. The energy mingled with the air, soon creating spinning vortex that started to suck in everything, spare shuriken and scythes shook as they slowly dragged toward the whirlpool of air and chakra. _It needs to have more speed, I need to add more chakra. But… _

She screamed as the wooden weapon went flying out of her grip, only to spear itself into the floor across the room. Chakra exhaustion was close. She almost overdid it. Luckily her damned brace had gotten in the way and tripped up the whole technique. At least now she knew it was more than theory. "Heh. Once I figure this out, that Sand bitch won't know what hit her." She tried to wipe her brow, but her arms had gone on strike. The appendages were too exhausted to lift, though her fingers still listened to her commands.

Tenten smiled faintly and shuffled to the door. She was going home, as there was no way she could train further. Her foot tapped the door open as her arms were currently immobile, and she left the hall. Someone else would clean it up if they really wanted to use it.

"Tenten? You look beat."

"What?" The brunette glanced up tiredly at the youngest Akimichi. He scanned her arms, nodded to himself and pulled out a fresh box of donuts from his back pocket. Tenten was about to shake her head no, after all she was so tired she could barely move let alone eat, when a thought occurred to her. "Wait a sec. You just pulled, a _box_ of _donuts_ from your ninja pouch, which is _circular_ and at least _half_ the size. How is that possible? I didn't see any scrolls."

Chouji shrugged. "Ancient Akimichi art of stuff-space, I don't quite know how it works but I can fit just about everything in here. You want some donuts? I recognize chakra depletion when I see it. I'd say your one bunshin away from total exhaustion."

The girl snorted at the attempt to subvert her attention. No one had questioned Chouji's ability to pull ridiculous amounts of food out of the air before and he seemed embarrassed. No matter. She'd ask again later, and again, till he told her. It looked much more efficient than scrolls. "No thanks. I can barely lift my fingers, much less eat with them."

"I could feed you."

There was a moment of tense silence as Chouji realized what he had said. Dual blushes tinted both of their cheeks and the two avoided eye contact. "I'll just, ah, go. I'm sure there's a shake or something waiting for me."

"Okay. Yeah. Have a good day."

Neither Chouji or Tenten noticed the white eyed man nodding to himself at their departure. Neji Hyuuga made a mental note. He would have never suspected his teammate to have a thing for the larger boy. _Larger…_Neji forcibly stopped that thought and decided his time would be better spent looking through mission requests. _Ino's already left on a recon with Lee, she won't be back for at least a week so I can't get those magazines. Damn._

* * *

"Mom! I'm home!" Tenten yelled as she backed into the small house. Her mother, who had led a secluded life and rarely went out, didn't answer back. That was unusual and Tenten immediately went on alert. She mentally cursed her frozen arms while sliding against the wall listening for anything. 

Would she call for help? No. That might cause more damage, besides, she could be over-reacting. _But mother always answers._ Tenten shifted her shoulder till it knocked against her kunai pouch and loosened one. The metal shovel/knife fell out, only to be kicked in the air by the girl's foot and caught in her mouth.

She slowly entered the room her mother picked out. Ruri was busy stuffing silks into a suitcase, her face red and eyes puffy. As the door clicked shut behind her daughter Ruri stiffened. "I-I thought you would still be practicing."

The kunai dropped to the ground, landing point down and sinking into the floorboards. "I finished early. What are you doing mother? Are we going somewhere?"

The dark haired lady held her hands in her face, shoulders heaving. "I can't do it! I just can't!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I have to go. This place…it's changed too much and so have you!" Ruri wiped away tears and resumed packing. "I can't be here. It was so peaceful. I thought he would never find us. He wouldn't dare break into _Konoha_, the greatest ninja village. I thought we could live here away form him."

Tenten stepped forward, her heart racing. "Mother, who's he?"

"Your FATHER!" Ruri screamed, slamming the case closed with the action. "I thought here, you would grow up free from his influence. He couldn't turn you into a weapon. I wanted you to be a good girl…" She looked up, her hand reaching out to stroke Tenten's face. "I wanted us to be safe."

"…you never gave me my last name." The kunoichi whispered scared. Long ago she came to terms with the fact the woman who gave birth to her wouldn't offer a sur-name, deciding it was better to remain nameless than a bastard. "Who was my father?"

Ruri hugged her stuffed suitcase close. "But then you saw the older children playing ninja and thought throwing things was FUN! So much like him… you loved your weapons didn't you? Who was I to say no? Where we live, it's almost law that any child who wanted to go into the ninja academy could. Parent wishes or no! JUST LIKE HIM!"

"Who was my father!" Feeling crept back into her hands as they clenched.

"Just like him. My baby. The man who sired you, was Zabuza Momochi. I knew he would come for you, to turn you to his ends. He had a talent for that. Your name is Tenten Momochi. Daughter of a demon. It fit's does it not?" Tears and laughter leaked from the woman. She trudged toward the door, her offspring protesting.

"It doesn't matter! Mother! Please, stay or take me with you."

"NO! I can't! Don't you understand? Tenten, this life is what you were meant for."

Ruri ran out the door, slamming it shut while the lock twisted into position, and rushing into the street. Tenten screamed. Her mother had all but disowned her, and she couldn't even follow. Not with her arms still useless. She collapsed on the bed, her tears staining silk sheets. The whole world had gone insane. _Then let's go with it._

Sniffles soon ceased as the brown-eyed girl fell asleep, a comforting presence seeming to wrap around her. _My mother may have turned her back on me, but my father didn't. He died in Wave. I should…go… and pay my…respects._

Years later, Konoha would be known for housing more than the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

END.


	9. Plots, Plans, Parties

**Plots, Plans, Parties**

**Take all the fools out of this world and there wouldn't be any fun living in it, or profit.- Josh Billings**

Naruto rested on his bed while staring at the ceiling. The soft mattress easily supported his small frame, but he didn't enjoy it as much as he should. It just didn't feel as comfortable as his old bed. The thing was big enough for two people and though Naruto had no trouble sleeping in it- he could sleep anywhere if he wanted- but it felt empty. _There's too much space on the side. _Naruto briefly entertained the idea of having a sleep-over.

He sat up, at the approaching sound of people arguing loudly. The fox container peeked out from his door, only to see the two largest men he had ever met. Both wore the forehead protectors of Konoha, and from the way they bickered he decided they must be related. When they started talking about food Naruto perked up.

"Fuujin, Tsunade-sama said the kitchens were downstairs! Not down the hall!" One of the large men complained. His stomach growled its own complaint and Naruto smiled. He could understand stomach-speak.

"Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto exclaimed as he introduced himself to the new shinobi. _I wonder if they are some of the people from prison?_

The brothers stopped arguing and turned to the boy, thoughts of dinner temporarily banished. "Naruto? Are you a new type of fishcake that serves itself?" Or maybe not.

Fuujin grinned predatorily and licked his lips. Naruto stepped back, not out of fear but out of awkwardness. He knew his name was a little strange but no one had confused him with edible before. "No. I can take you too the main kitchens if you want."

"Yes! Dinner! Riceballs! Sandwiches! Pasta! Pork!"

"Eggrolls! Cake! Pie! Chicken! Cookies!"

Caught up in the celebration of food, Naruto added to the list as the threesome marched to the underground dining hall. "Ramen! Strawberries! Ramen!"

Several audible sighs of relief could be heard as the group left the dorm section of the manor.

The dining hall was extravagant compared to the personal cooking stations in the rooms. Gray marble served as the floor, as well as the countertops. Huge stoves lined one wall, with nothing to separate the dining area from the cooking. There was a bonfire lit in the center of the room, over which a wild boar was roasting as Iruka turned the spit.

"Food!" The trio called and rushed the chef. Iruka 'eep'ed and clung to the ceiling, smiling in amusement as they burned their hands on the still flaming meal.

"You know, it would have been much easier if you just waited." Iruka said with a sigh. The two former convicts, who had been jailed for cannibalism, were each gnawing on a leg.

Naruto was sucking on a burned hand since he didn't have the ability to reach through the roaring flames without incident. "Iruka-sensei! How have you been? I been great! Hinata-chan made me try carrots yesterday. I didn't like them though. They made my lips itch afterwards. Does that make me allergic? Huh?"

Iruka patted his former students head, much like one would a loyal pet. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. Great actually. Anko brought this guy back from a patrol of hers, truthfully I didn't think boars got this big. Carrots? Never saw you as the carrot type. I don't know. You should ask Tsunade-hime."

Naruto hugged the older man and watched the brothers head to the cabinets where they proceeded to search for other food. Iruka patiently added another layer of sauce to the now mangled meal, waiting for Naruto to detach. The kid hadn't been this affectionate before, but to see the smile on his face was worth it. If the Umino hadn't been cooking he would be returning the embrace ten-fold.

"Why are you cooking the piggy?" Naruto asked, leaning forward but careful to avoid the flames. "Where is the fire coming from?"

"Don't know. It was here when we found the place and hasn't gone out. I figured bar-ba-que boar would be good, considering Chouji-kun's been asking for it."

Naruto bounced around the room inspecting it for traps and the like. Typical of Sasuke-teme to leave something of the like and not tell anyone. Iruka chuckled and told him that they had all been disabled already. "You said Akno-chan brought it back. Why did she give it to you? Can't she cook it herself?" The examiner had struck Naruto as a capable woman.

Iruka scratched his chin, absently getting some sauce on it. "Actually, I'm not quite sure but I have some ideas." He replied slyly. "She just showed up with the gutted carcass and dropped it at my feet, blushing the whole time. I thought she had a fever at first. Curious that is...but it gives a nice excuse to relax."

Naruto bounced on his toes, instantly his attention went to Iruka. "Does that mean were having a party?"

"Yes. Some others are bringing snacks and other things. I believe Kurenai volunteered to make brownies."

"And everyone's coming?" The blonde asked, eyes shining.

"Yeah." Iruka wiped his hands on a cloth.

"Sweet! I'm going to go tell Hinata-chan!"

Naruto burst from the kitchen, and slammed into the far wall. It was intentional, because as the sudden pressure of the boy's body hit it the wall rotated and allowed the blonde entrance to the tunnel. He kept one finger on the stone tracing a path, before the tunnel branched off into the separate directions. Left led to the main bedrooms, but the path narrowed. Naruto shrugged and continued forward until he came to a familiar hall. _This place gets repaired fast!_

* * *

Hinata was pacing her floor, wondering if she should wear a formal kimono to the impromptu celebration. Her ponderings were cut short as her idol burst from the wall, though this time he took time to use the handle. "N-Naruto-kun!"

"Hinata-chan!" He pounced like a cat, but only onto her bed. Hinata shrugged off the disappointment. She would have liked him to play with her hair again. "Iruka-sensei said they're going to party. Wanna come with me?"

_I was trying to get the courage to ask you that._ Hinata blushed. "Y-yes. I would like that, very much." Hinata bobbed her head. She spent the next few minutes in a haze.

"…That is a big boar." Hinata commented when she regained her bearings. Iruka nodded.

"Hinata-chan, can you get a leg?" Naruto asked innocently.

"What?"

Iruka pulled his fork from the sizzling meat, and decided it needed a few more minutes. "Naruto saw Fuujin and Raijin reach into that," he waved at the flames thoroughly surrounding the boar. "And rip off a leg, each. He tried to do the same and was burned."

"Oh. No Naruto-kun. I don't think I can, not yet."

Naruto fell backwards onto the cool tile, and rested his hands behind his head. "Okay. Is it something that only the two of them can do?"

"No. They do it because they have short attention spans and crazy stamina." Iruka called absently. When he realized what he said he felt the need to add to it. "You're too young to have the kind of raw power to rip the leg off quickly. Or control to protect yourself from such."

"Damnit. But I'll be able to do it, eventually right?"

Hinata nodded at his eager attitude. "And with enough chakra and control it's possible to create a shield, and walk straight through flames."

"That's sooo cool!" Naruto exclaimed as more people filed in.

Iruka lifted the iron rod holding the boar and shifted it out of the fire. "Very few shinobi have that kind of power and control. None of the sannin can do it longer and a few seconds."

Naruto sighed. He appeared depressed, when a thought bubbled up in his mind. _But if no one can do it well…_ "It would be a good defense then."

"Come again?" Tsunade asked as she entered the room with Jiraiya. Surprisingly several girls were trailing the sweet-talking sannin.

Naruto blinked. They were taking him seriously? "Well, if it's hard to get through fire, couldn't there be wall of it."

Iruka shook his head. "The only jutsu capable of creating a wall of flames used the Uchiha bloodlimit."

Tsunade arched an eyebrow. "And you know this..?"

He shrugged. "I had an Uchiha in my class, I wanted to be the best teacher for him."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Isn't there some other way? Ero-sennin! Don't you have a combo with Gamabunta that makes fire?"

The room had begun to fill, with the gathered shinobi congregating around the cluster to listen in. Jiraiya smoked his pipe, thinking as Asuma cut the meat. "It's just a simple katon to ignite the oil. Only a brief stream comes from it."

"So the oil is flammable?"

Shikamaru shook his head in the negative when his father offered some sake. "Why not use trenches to hold it?"

"Jumping through a straight wall of fire is simple, it wouldn't help very much. Unless you can hold the person in the flames long enough for it to catch, it would be pointless." Tsunade uttered to Naruto's disappointment. He thought he had something.

Hinata furrowed her brow in thought. The idea made sense, but how to make it work against shinobi? There had to be a way to force the enemy ninja into remaining in the fire. "What about a grid?"

"A grid?"

Shikamaru nodded, his eyes loosing their bored look as he thought about it. "If placed close enough, the fire would suck the oxygen from the environment…I think it could work."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Can we talk about this later? IT'S PARTY TIME!"

Asuma stepped up onto a table, so that the ever-burning fire served as a background. A few former ANBU were wearing their masks to the side of their heads as they picked up instruments.

The smoker took one last drag of the cigarette. "Some people call me the space cowboy…yeah…some people call me the gangsta of love."

Naruto jumped up and started to dance. He rocked from side to side, soon joined by Hinata. People danced and ate, while the tension of the past weeks drained. As the ninja and civilians let themselves relax an unbreakable bound, started during the great purge, completed. The village of Konoha inherited a will of fire, a pure burning passion that would soon be feared by all shinobi nations.

* * *

Naruto was drunk on the atmosphere of the party. He wandered back to his room with his head bobbing in time to the music, with Hinata clinging to his arm. She had accidentally taken a sip of Gai's sake and nearly passed out. The shorthaired girl had the same alcohol tolerance as her cousin, none. 

"Naaaaruuuuto-kun." Hinata slurred, soon loosing her grip as blissful sleep called her. Without missing a step Naruto caught her and started carrying the girl bridal-style.

"Hinata-chan's really light." Naruto muttered to himself as he kicked open his door and sat the sleeping girl on his bed. Humming, he struggled to get off her coat after reasoning that she would be more comfortable without it. He stepped back, his blue eyes tracing her curves. Naruto climbed into bed on the other side. He reached over, weaving his fingers in Hinata's hair and listening to her breath. The steady pattern helped calm him down from the evening's festivities, and Naruto felt his eyelids drop. He pulled her closer, until the scent of her shampoo overwhelmed him. _I could get used to this._

* * *

Hinata woke briefly, a small headache present. She would have left to get a painkiller, but the warm band around her middle stopped her. Hinata turned to see her love sleeping next to her. _I must be dreaming._ She brushed her lips against his as she burrowed closer to his warmth. 

Naruto's eyelids lifted marginally, revealing red irises. He smiled and clutched Hyuuga tighter, possessively.

End.


	10. Leaving the Sand

**Leaving the Sand **

**Happiness is not always measured in smiles.- Unknown**

_What's so different?_ Pale blue eyes stared up from the mirror, blank. Gaara traced his image with a finger. He felt empty inside, and a yearning to fill that space continuality pressed against his chest like a real wound.

Moonlight passed through the open window, bringing with it a sense of serenity. Gaara moved from the mirror to look at the sky. The moon glowed softly surrounded by stars, as if it watched over and protected them. _Like a mother, and all the stars are her children._

**_Why don't you call me mother anymore, Gaara?_** Shukaku laughed from the back of his mind. The demon roamed the depths of his consciousness, waiting for a chance to gain total control as he slept. **_Why don't you take a nap? A nice nap would do wonders for you!_**

Gaara sighed. He had stopped listening to the tanuki after fighting Naruto. With an effort he pushed the beast away to a far corner of his mind, where hopefully the raccoon would find something to amuse itself with. The red head leaned out the window, thinking. What was it that made them so different? What caused the others to look the way they did, filled with life?

He raised his hands to the moon, as if in offering. Pale skin reflected the light beautifully. Gaara held the position and didn't care if anyone saw him. He was seeing himself. He was a person. He wasn't the demon, Uzumaki showed him that. It was the blonde's dream to become Hokage. Even if Gaara didn't sleep, couldn't he dream?

_My dream. I want to be recognized. I want people to see me. _Gaara continued to watch the moon with the ache in his chest growing. Shukaku wanted him to kill again; ambush a random villager to prove his existence. _I am not Shukaku. I won't do that._

Gaara retreated from the window, his sand closing the thick glass shutters absently and drawing the curtains. The demon container glanced around his Spartan room. It was absent of a bed, but held a dresser and couch as well as a heavy writing desk. He moved over to the rooms wooden desk as he had for several weeks now. Inside sat a book that was rare outside of the Fire country. It listed all the active duty shinobi for the village of Konoha, complete with age, name, and picture. Normally kept by feudal lords, the books were used by clients should they wish to select specific shinobi for a job. Gaara had taken it off a corpse.

There was still some blood caked on the binding, but luckily it had been Kankuro's kill and the man's pack had been left in tact. It was a fairly recent edition too, the man may have planned to take it to exchange with an older copy to be burned.

The pages flipped open easily to a small section near the back. Konoha's genin were listed, each with their own page. Each had something that Gaara was missing.

"Sakura…Haruno." Gaara read the name as he glanced at her profile. Age, weight, gender, and class stats. It was her eyes that held his attention. The emeralds reflected a strange joy he didn't understand, and a determination that was all too familiar. It was the girl that had been ready to take a hit from his half transformed state head on.

"Shikamaru…Nara." Temari's opponent may have had terrible scores, but his eyes had that same thing. It wasn't near as obvious as the previous page, but he had a quiet contentment in his eyes that Gaara envied.

"Shino…Aburame." Gaara wasn't sure what to think of the genin that nearly defeated his brother. It had taken much nagging from Temari but the puppetmaster had finally caved and described the battle to the wind mistress. The bug-user's concealed eyes annoyed Gaara. _Windows to the soul…but I can't see them._

Flipping the page once more Gaara's breath caught. _His eyes…_ It was the same boy whose leg he had crushed. Despite being only paper, pure happiness came out of those orbs. It was as if everything was right with the world, and he had accomplished something great. Gaara wanted that. He wanted to know what it was like to be so happy.

He skipped forward, coming to the last photo that captivated him. It was the boy who would never give up; who fought for his precious people. Those blue eyes sparkled from the page with a mischief, but the smile reflected his belief in himself. Gaara recalled Temari's pause when she caught him looking at it. She couldn't deny that in the picture Naruto had something that was appealing. _'Probably because pictures can't say stupid things.'_ _She said. But he's not stupid. _

Gaara snapped the book shut and stored it away. He recalled some jounin mentioning a 'Will of Fire' when he had been eaves dropping during the tournament. Was that what Naruto and his friends had? Gaara went back to the mirror, and watched himself. His eyes still lacked that spark that the Konoha genin had. Even Temari and Kankuro had it.

Gaara's gaze ended up shifting back to the night sky, to the glowing ball that lit the desert. "The moon reflects sunlight."

He glanced at his pale skin, and a random thought courtesy of his resident raccoon drifted in. **_Pale like the moon! That other boy was darker, tan. You two were total opposites!_**

_Go back to your corner. _Gaara snapped at the giggling demon. The thought wouldn't leave. "Could I borrow from the sun, and reflect it?"

* * *

Temari yawned as she entered the kitchen; her slippered feet dragging over the rough sandstone. The pleasant smell of coffee drifted from the kitchen, and she couldn't help but follow it. A caffeine boost would be welcome in the morning. 

"Kankuro, why don't…Gaara?" Temari felt the small drop of terror-inspired adrenaline banish her tiredness upon seeing her youngest brother. He was wearing a traveling cloak over his red leather, and holding out a mug of warm black nectar.

"We're leaving." It was said with such finality that Temari couldn't help but shiver. She carefully accepted the mug and sipped it, marveling at the taste. Kankuro never made coffee this good.

"Where?" She knew better than to argue. While it was true her brother had been improving, and didn't threaten to kill them every other day, she couldn't forget that he had. It seemed he was in one of those moods.

There was a clacking from the stairwell, a sign of Kankuro dragging his puppet's down. He took care of them most of the time, but Gaara's abrupt decision to leave must have him hurrying. A tuft of reddish hair poked out soon followed by the genin. He glanced irritably at Gaara and nodded at Temari.

Gaara turned to go to his room, "Konoha."

The girl sighed. "Alright. I'll be ready within the hour." She addressed Kankuro who was wrapping his puppets. "Do you know what this is about?"

"No clue. I sent a message to Baki-sensei, but he hasn't replied yet. Gaara didn't seem to care."

She ran a hand through her hair and knocked back the rest of the drink. "I suppose he's been planning this then."

"He?"

"Gaara. You didn't notice how much more relaxed he is out of Suna's borders?"

Kankuro tied a final knot, the end product making Karasu resemble a human body. "What are you talking about? Gaara is Gaara. Same stoic person as ever."

Temari sat the mug on the counter. She started making a mental list of things she would need, before brushing it away. There was no way she could find everything in an hour. "You might want to pack more. Call it women's intuition if you want, but I don't think we're coming back."

Kankuro jumped, startled at the comment. "You mean, Gaara wants to become a missing-nin."

The corner of her mouth tilted up. "Look at it this way," she said sarcastically. "If he wants us to come, he probably isn't inclined to crush you. That, and if we don't go he might kill us so he has more time."

"But I already told Baki-sensei…" Kankuro trailed off.

"Who is immersed in so much paper-work and debates with the village council he won't get it till nightfall, at least. Then again Baki-sensei knows Gaara better than anyone, he won't send a group out to die needlessly."

She hurried up the stairs and started packing. _Why the sudden change? Gaara has never shown interest in leaving Suna before. _Several changes of clothing, minus Suna desert wear, were stacked in a pack along with her immediate savings and hair brushes and ties.

"Crap!" Kankuro shouted from downstairs. "How the hell do I carry three puppets?"

Temari poked her head out the door. "Take them apart! You can put them back together later!"

END.


	11. Between Love and Lust

**Between Love and Lust**

**How absurd and delicious it is to be in love with somebody younger than yourself. Everybody should try it.-Barbara Pym**

_Why?_ Sakura stared into the small fire she had made, as if seeking the answers to her many questions. Off in the distance a bird chirped once before being silenced with a kunai. The kunoichi lowered her arm sadly while her stomach growled. Weeks on the run had forced her to come to several conclusions.

She had pathetic survival skills, a situation that needed to be quickly mended or she would starve. The small amount of money the pink haired ninja had earned from Team Seven's D-rank missions only went so far. Within the first week she had spent nearly all her savings.

With a small grunt she stood and quietly walked to her waiting meal. The cardinals blood blended eerily with it's feathers, a few of which were still floating down, and it unsettled the girl. Her stomach growled to drown out any misgivings whispered from the inner self. She carefully pulled her weapon from the creatures breast before making her way back to camp.

She set to work cleaning the animal, and her thoughts drifted. _Sasuke-kun…where are you? How hard can it be to find a village?_ She sighed, barely noticing how a stray spark burned a hole in her dress.

**_It is a ninja village. Supposed to be a Hidden Village. Wouldn't make sense if just anyone could come to it._** Inner Sakura snorted. Surprisingly Sakura's inner voice had started to become the voice of reason in their strange duo. She often commented on the little things that were so obvious they were overlooked, like a purloined letter.

"S-shut up." Sakura whispered as she bit into the still smoking bird. It was times like these that she missed her loud teammate, and even their perverted teacher. Kakashi would say something that would annoy either her or Naruto, there would be a moment of arguing, and the tense atmosphere would be dispelled. Wait an hour and repeat.

A pair of tears leaked from her eyes as she continued eating the bird. She was incredibly hungry after a day of travel, but she couldn't stop crying. _Why can't I stop? Why do I cry so much?_

**_Why did Sasuke leave? Why is the sky blue? Why? Why? Why? Don't ask pointless questions!_**

_Just shut up! I feel bad enough already!_ Sakura finished the bird and buried the remains, a trick she remembered reading from an old adventure novel. She may not have been any good at tracking, but she could hide her own fairly well. _I just miss everyone._

**_Well we can't possibly go back._** There was a strange sensation of vertigo as Inner Sakura paced back and forth in her mind. The personality wanted to rage and shout like it normally did but times had changed. Dominant Sakura needed help. Seriously. The girl was improving but she was still weak and would be no match for potential obstacles between her and Sasuke. **_At least not without Sasuke-kun. We have to train and find that village!_**

Sakura nodded absently as her fire started to die and the limited amount of twigs she had gathered began to run out.

She sniffled a bit. The tears had stopped. Sakura leaned over as her activities from the day before caught up with her. She had spent the early morning cleaning up her camp to make it look as if no one had disturbed it. After about two hours of running, more or less, she found a place to train in her aim and jutsu. The sad thing was she only knew that which was taught at the academy. After being on a team with Sharingan users one would think she would pick something up.

A cool wind blew through the sparse trees, Sakura felt her body shiver as it curled up. She was too tired to notice the faint smell of ash that came with the breeze.

* * *

Anko paced quietly behind the Umino of her dreams. She had volunteered for the tracking and elimination of the missing Haruno, but didn't expect him to join her. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as she realized a single genin was hard to find with a cold track. 

Sakura's trail wasn't completely obvious, with her taking a tree-born route periodically, but once they had cleared Fire countries borders the pink whelp started getting crafty. Anko smirked. _I should thank the little bitch when I find her. This is the perfect opportunity to seduce him! _

Iruka ignored the sudden eruption of giggles that came from behind him. It was out of character for the woman, and slightly disturbing. _Maybe it's just her blood-lust acting up. Never been on a mission with her before, but back to Sakura. If I were a Sasuke obsessed bookworm where would I be?_

Anko cursed as she shut down her more girlish tendencies. That had been embarrassing, but true to form she pretended like it never happened. Her eyes focused on the former chuunin and admired the pale scar across his nose. It was actually appealing and she wondered how he had gotten it. Across the nose was an odd place to receive a cut.

She redirected her next leap to follow him as he turned.

"She's running again." Iruka said off handedly.

"What?"

"She's making a zig-zag pattern to confuse us. Perhaps not us. This is technically enemy territory she may just be trying to make it harder for patrols to determine her location."

"I never did that…" Anko mused.

Iruka grabbed a thinner branch and swung around to land in a small clearing. "Not many do. Normally we just run to the mission, complete it, and run back. This sort of thing is usually used for prolonged missions."

"Makes sense. She camped here again?"

Iruka stroked a patch of grass thoughtfully, his knowledge of his students minds was an unparalleled advantage when it came to tracking one of them down. Even Shikamaru used to have difficultly skipping the Umino's class. Eventually he had decided it was to tiring to hide from the man, leaving Naruto to himself.

"Yeah. Headed further north, it's the closest town."

Sakura cleaned up as best she could under the circumstances. Her hair was reasonably brushed and free from sticks, though her clothing needed a wash. **_No time for that! Must gather information! Must get back Sasuke!_**

"Right!" Sakura agreed with her confident self. They needed to be focused. They had to get back Sasuke! All her doubt and sadness had been banished with the sunrise.

She passed the guards with a disarming smile. They nodded at her, their eyes gleaming. That was all it took to drive home that this country had Orochimaru controlling it in all but name for years. It wasn't the safest of places. Her hand brushed against her set of kunai, as if inner was checking to make sure they were properly armed.

There was a distinct smell to the city, like a bottle of perfume had been spilled years ago and still held faint control. "Excuse me," Sakura asked a shop keeper who was busy sweeping dust from the porch. He turned, and the cigarette dangling form his mouth reminded her of team ten's sensei. The sharp pain in her heart threatened to take her breath away, but she swallowed it. "you wouldn't happen to know of any shinobi villages, would you? I was wondering where I could put in a mission request…"

"Listen girl," his breath stank. "You don't want to be going to no shinobi village. Those that do don't come back." His clouded eyes roamed over her toned figure. A few weeks on the lamb did that to a girl. "You know the name of this place? Takara. I think you would fit right in."

"Um. No thank-you." She hurried away down the street. People bustled about and multiple story buildings lined every street. As the morning started to wane dust floated in the air, and she hurried to find a place to rest. Everyone she asked gave about the same answer. They didn't know or didn't want to know where the Sound Village was located.

Multiple occasions had forced her to draw a small amount of blood, as the town of 'precious object' was apparently known for it's young prostitutes. _Funny how that was never mentioned in any of the academy books. Sure they supply you with detailed maps and major exports, but not the important stuff that may come in handy if you actually go._

Her stomach started to growl. "Damn." Sakura rose and jumped the wall back to the countryside where she would hopefully find some rabbits. It would have been easier to use the gate again, but she didn't like the scruffy looks of the guards. She really missed Konoha.

* * *

Iruka held up a single hand and Anko halted. The woman crouched behind a small bush and grumbled at the lack of decent cover in the area. She followed her partners gaze to a small reddish blob huddled on the ground. That couldn't be the Haruno, could it? 

While debating on who or what the blob was, said blob jumped up and hurled something forward. Anko glanced over at Iruka, and was surprised to see he was shaking. Why was he shaking? Were those tears coming from his eyes?

"Iruka-sensei?" She questioned, wary.

"How can I kill my own student?" He whispered, eyes glued on the distant form of the pink-haired girl. "I watched her grow up. I dried her tears when the others teased her."

Anko went cold. She didn't know what to do about the sobbing mess sitting next to her. She still liked him, true, but not this soft version. They had a mission and he had agreed to come.

She removed a glinting kunai from her pouch, and grinned mercilessly at the missing-nin across the pasture. Anko would remove the source of her love's trouble, and then they could have a nice make-out session. It was a great plan, and she would enjoy putting out the little traitors light.

* * *

The only warning Sakura had was a sudden spike in killer intent, and the only thing that kept her moving out of the way was the much more potent blast she had experienced in the forest of death. She rolled, and the corpse of the rabbit she had been skinning went sailing though the air toward her assailant. 

_Anko-sensei!_ **_Crap! We're so screwed!_**

The Mitarashi ducked the body with a sneer and outright punched the genin. Blood flew from her mouth as well as several teeth. "Hello girl. One should never betray their village." Anko called.

Sakura spat out more blood, her emerald eyes boring into the other woman with unfettered anger. The younger girl quickly formed a seal and suddenly split into five. All the Sakura's glared and charged at Anko, who laughed unimpressed.

Anko dropped to avoid the punches from girl, but not before drawing another blade. While still crouched she whipped the small knife around till it made contact with every version of her prey until a satisfying spurt of blood marked the severing of the real Sakura's tendons. The pink haired girl fell forward while tossing a kunai as Anko jumped out of her path. The blood loving kunoichi would have continued her torture and disposal if not for the wire attached to the knife that had turned in mid-air and wrapped around her arms.

Sakura snarled from her prone position and pulled the string taught with all her strength finially managing to cut through the leather jacket and into Anko's arms. "Heh." Anko muttered as she found herself rendered immobile. "Looks like you improved a small bit. Too bad it's not enough."

Anko focused her chakra and used the replacement technique to switch with Sakura herself. The look of shock on the girls face was priceless when she found herself bound by her own wires. Tears sprung to the green eyes once more as Anko closed in, licking her kunai.

The older woman gleefully traced bloody lines along Sakura's skin. After tiring of her art she rammed her weapon in the girls shoulder. Sakura screamed but it only encouraged the gore obsessed kunoichi.

Sakura felt her mind receding as her pain receptors overloaded from the multiple kunai in her body. _I shouldn't have left. I should have stayed…_

She closed her eyes and whimpered as another weapon came toward her stomach. It never connected. "Iruka-sensei! You're ruining my fun!" Anko pouted and stomped her foot. She could overpower him, but the way his frosty eyes glared at her sent shivers of anticipation up her spine. This was the Umino she liked.

Iruka brushed a strand of blood soaked hair from Sakura's face delicately. "You know why we have to do this."

"Yeah…" Sakura choked out in relief. Her throat was so sore from screaming she couldn't manage much more. Iruka was here. He was always their guardian angle. "I…I don't want this pain anymore."

Anko strained her ears but was unable to make out the conversation. Iruka whispered a few more things in the girls ear before taking her head in his hands and quickly snapping the neck. The smile on the dead girls face was odd, and Anko didn't understand it in the least.

The kunoichi shrugged it off and walked back to Iruka's side, practically draping herself over him. Iruka ignored her as he plucked the blades from Sakura's corpse and removed the wire. He shrugged the amorous woman off and walked off to find some wood.

Anko watched him work, with a bored pout. When would he leave the stupid dead girl and pay attention to her! Hadn't she made her intentions clear?

Iruka placed one last branch around his dead student, eyes clouded. Sakura looked so peaceful, like she reached an understanding in those last moments few would ever find. _Iruka-sensei. The pain of being alone, of having no one to turn to is worse than a thousand kunai. I've come to understand that._

"It is the greatest pain, Sakura." He took a match from his vest, and ignited it with a twist of his fingers. Depression started to set in as he watched her burn. Everything he was feeling threatened to burst out of the dam built while he watched from the bushes.

Anko could feel the emotions of her man, and didn't like it one bit. The traitor was dead but he was still feeling down. She walked casually over to the Umino, before wrapping her arms around his middle. Her rough hands found a way beneath his shirt there she rubbed his chest as she licked his ear. He shivered beneath her touch, and she could feel his heart rate increase.

"Come on, Sen-sei. We're done here. Leave her." Anko whispered in his ear. He closed the dead eyes with a sigh, and turned to tell the woman to go away, when he found himself in a lip-lock.

Anko's unbound breasts pressed against his chest as she quickly moved to hold his face to hers and explore his mouth. It wasn't long before he reciprocated the kiss and savored her spicy taste. There was only so much one man could take.

As they broke apart a strong wind blew through the clearing and kicked ash into the air. Anko eyed the man appreciatively before taking his hand in hers to lead him away from the funeral pyre.

END.


	12. Confrontations

**Confrontations**

**Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.- Mary H. Jones**

Teuchi straightened the tie on his newly purchased suit. They would be here soon, and if the man was as anally punctual as he used to be, Shino would be in for a surprise. "Then again," Teuchi mused as he contemplated adding sunglasses to his attire, "Neither of us are as young as we used to be. He might use the door like normal people."

Returning to his home country had been quite and enlightening experience. Under the leadership of Tazuna Wave had slowly been recovering from it's former poverty. While the trio had crossed the Great Naruto Bridge Teuchi had been pleased to see villagers that didn't resemble skeletons, and hear the laughter of playing children. Tenten grew quieter and more composed as they approached the inner city, and Shino hadn't hesitated in warning them of the thugs waiting in the alleys. Recovering it may be, but every city had an underground network. One of the mistakes Gatou had made was bringing it to light.

Satisfied with his appearance, Teuchi left the large bedroom in the apartment he had rented for the duration of their stay. It was heavily stocked with all the comforts, after all he had to act the part or they wouldn't take him seriously. "Shino-san. Our guests should be arriving…"

The bug user nodded from his place by the couch, before suddenly throwing one arm out as the door crashed open. A man as old as Teuchi, possibly older, stood in the doorway with surprise across his face, as well as hundreds of Shino's insects. He laughed nervously. "Heh. So the Old Man is back, eh? It's a pleasure to see you again."

Teuchi motioned to Shino who called his bugs back. "Have a seat, Makoto. It's been a while."

"You bet your ass it has. Twenty years since I heard from you, not since that incident with the bulbs in Iwa." The man joked as he sat in the chair.

"I recall that. I also recall how it was your fault the law enforcement found out about the operation. The fact that they were ninja's didn't help the situation." Teuchi smiled at his old companion as he poured a glass of wine.

"I got us out didn't I?"

"Without the merchandise."

"Picky, picky. The Old Man is never happy." Makoto cracked his neck and viewed the Konoha shinobi. "Who's this guy? Seems like the strong and silent type. Creepy too."

"Forgive me." Teuchi took a sip of the dark wine. "Shino's my new retainer…as well as his girlfriend Tenten. Despite being young I wouldn't suggest underestimating them."

Makoto held his hands in a non-threatening manner. "I don't plan on it. You were always good at picking out strong guards, but not everyone remembers that. I've heard the whispers…well more like stated facts. The underground is currently, how can I put this, disorganized. Fractions will form and dissolve within weeks, the few that manage to hold on have little power.

"Some, yours truly, can see the problem. Without a unifying force we're spiraling toward our own destruction."

Teuchi offered a glass to his old companion. "I didn't know you had such a way with words."

"I didn't know you would be back." The tone of that statement was off. Teuchi recognized it. It was a subtle warning designed to avoid alarming any bodyguards.

"You don't have to go round-about, Makoto. I fully trust Shino."

The guest eyed Shino, and remembered the feel of thousands of little legs crawling on his skin. He did not want to experience that again. "I don't understand how you do that."

"Talk."

Makoto swirled his wine around in his glass. "As I said earlier, several of the more prominent figures clinging to their organizations recognized you. They are worried that you haven't come on a friendly visit. Some are thinking to get rid of you before more can arrive."

Teuchi grinned as he raised his glass in a toast to the man. "Well, I'd have to agree with them."

"But Ichiraku!" Makoto stood quickly, only to freeze at he sound of ominous buzzing. He calmed himself and looked at the strong form of his friend. "They plan to kill you if you try to meet with the leaders. The opposition…"

Teuchi shook his head. "Will be nothing. I don't plan on getting those children's permission. I won't run Wave into the ground like that idiot, but I do need you Makoto. I need the Rat."

Makoto slumped back in his seat. "Why? I can get in and out of just about anywhere, I can supply you with whatever information you need, but it's useless if you're not going to use it."

"Simple. I said I don't need to meet with them. I need you to get into the Village Hidden in the Mist."

Makoto's eyes popped, and he started laughing. "Y-you want me to infiltrate a SHINOBI village." He wiped a tear from his eye. "Okay."

Teuchi leaned closer. "This is what I need…"

* * *

Tenten stared sadly down at the pair of graves before her. After informing her client that she would be leaving on an errand, she had gone looking for her fathers resting place. It hadn't been easy to find either. On one hand she should thank Naruto for picking a spot so far up and out of the way, it assured that the grave would remain undisturbed, on the other hand it had been a big hassle to find. Half the villagers she asked freaked out at the mention of Zabuza, and the other just shrugged their shoulders. 

By sheer dumb luck she ran into a small kid, Inari, who happened to know where her father had been buried. Now she knelt down before him, praying. _Father. I apologize for not arrive sooner, had I known the truth, I would have. May your spirit be at peace._ She took a kunai from her pouch and inspected the polished metal. It had been the first one she had ever received from the old metal smith across the street.

He had admired her skill with some throwing forks she had sharpened and gave her a 'proper' weapon. Tenten caressed the metal. It had at one time carried her hopes and dreams. It had been a symbol of her hopes to be a famous Kunoichi like Tsunade, but her dreams had changed.

Tenten buried the kunai in the dirt. Her father would appreciate the gesture, she hoped.

"Little girl…"

Tenten snorted. She had sensed them five minutes ago. Stupid wanna-be samurai should know their place. She could see one of them reflected in the rusty grave marker that was her fathers sword. Five more paced just out of eyesight, waiting for their leaders order. Tenten crouched in preparation. _How dare they come here._

"Little girl. What does the Old Man want in Wave? Answer truthfully and we will be very gentle with you." Tenten watched his reflection. He wore a pair of Katana at his waist, but they didn't look as well cared for as they should be. _Lazy bastard._

"What my client plans is his own business." Tenten replied coldly to the jibe. The bastard behind her licked his lips.

"Admirable for a girl. You look like you know a bit about fighting. How about switching sides?"

Tenten's face burned at the suggestion. She wouldn't think of betraying her client or her village! She wasn't some Uchiha! Even her father had tried his best until his client turned on them! Tenten growled. "Leave. Now. You're defiling this place."

"Tsk." He spat on the ground to annoy her and began walking forward. The others followed his example and encircled the weapons user. "I suppose we can always have some fun with a pretty flower like you. Willing or not."

They thought themselves safe. There were still several yards between the aggressive group and her, and they were taking their time. "I hope you don't mind, father." Tenten whispered to the grave.

With the men still several feet away, she expertly gripped the faded handle and jumped up. It was difficult but she managed to drag the massive sword with her, and a single swipe was all it took to shake the dirt from it. Tenten grunted as she landed, but held her new weapon steady as the studied the group of six. They now watched her warily, as it wasn't everyday a small girl pulled such a thing from the earth.

Her arms started the shake. _Damn it! It's too heavy. I can't hold this long…and my wrists are feeling the strain even worse. I'll have to end this quick._

Tenten charged. Her eyes burned with bloodlust as she ran at the leader, and aimed for his neck. He tried to duck, but didn't move fast enough as the kunoichi still managed to sever the top half of his head. A bowl holding pinkish gray mush rolled along the ground to her amusement.

"BITCH!" The next one charged her with two blades drawn, and Tenten couldn't help but critique his form as he came. She altered her grip to accommodate the direct attack and blocked. He was surprisingly strong, and a twinge of pain from her wrist warned her she needed to be quick. Tenten kicked him in the crotch, and the stalemate ended as the broke through his defense and decapitated the man.

Two down, four to go. She rolled to the side to avoid a slash, and pulled the hulking sword up. As the blade carved a trail straight through bone and muscle Tenten smiled proudly. A small part of her recoiled at the degree of violence and bloodshed, but that part had been locked away with the leaving of her mother.

"This is a pretty good sword, huh." She mocked her remaining foes as they backed away. "Even rusty it cleaves though bodies like paper."

"Stay away, demoness!" He threw some shuriken at her, but she just tilted her head to the side. Tenten let the sword drop as she walked toward them. It dragged behind her, leaving a narrow but deep trench to mark her path.

They ran. Tenten used the reach of her new, favorite weapon to her advantage. She swung. It tore through their collective torso's leaving a mess of intestine on the ground. The bunned girl shook her head and walked through the gore still dragging the weapon. "Okay. I either need to figure out that stuff-space thing Chouji can do or strength train. A lot."

END.


	13. Accidental Marriage

**Accidental Marriage**

**The beauty of the world has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.**** - Virginia Woolf  
**

Kurenai stood before the mirror of her bathroom sink and tried to brush out her long black hair. The kunoichi in training glared at her brush. Every time it came within an inch or two of her hair, static caused strands to rise. It was difficult to get the job done when each stroke of the brush resulted in a crackle of electricity. "Gah!" Kurenai threw the offending object into the sink with a shout.

"Kurenai?" Came a soft but worried voice from beyond the door. "Are you alright? You didn't slip did you? Are you stuck in the toilet?"

"Oka-san!" The girl called back with a blush as red as her eyes on her cheeks. "I'm fine!"

"Are you sure? I heard a crash…" Came the pitiful remark. Kurenai sighed and adjusted her top before smoothing her red and white skort. Her mother was over-protective and most days a nervous wreck. Grandmother claimed she wasn't always paranoid something bad would happen, but ever since father had been killed on a simple item retrieval mission she fretted over her only child as if the world was out to get Kurenai.

The student of the killing arts swiftly opened the bathroom door, only to stand for inspection. Her mother had dark shoulder length hair that appeared to absorb the light and red-rimmed ruby eyes that hinted at the previous night spent crying over the photo of her father. All the Yuhi women had red tinted eyes ranging from light pink to near black. Kurenai's happened to be the darkest of the Yuhi's currently living.

The elder scanned her daughter for any suspicious bruise before nodding in satisfaction and handing the small girl her bento. "Have a good day at school, Kurenai."

She hugged her mother. "Bye." Kurenai smiled brilliantly in an effort to ease the woman, but she only wrung her hands as her daughter skipped off to school.

* * *

"Children, we're going to do something a little different today." Iwo-sensei announced to the gathered children. Kurenai glanced up from the coloring book she had lodged between the pages of her anatomy text. So far class had been fairly routine with a lecture on the vital points of the body. Kurenai already memorized the important and easily accessible targets so she passed the time 'taking notes'. "We're going to mix up tai-jutsu practice with the class from down the hall. Take notes, as training with new and different opponents will help you find your weaknesses." 

The idiot Hyuuga in the front raised his hand calmly, slowly, and oh so irritatingly. "Sensei. Is this to be a common occurrence?"

Kurenai chewed her bottom lip nervously. It was common knowledge Kurenai held the not-so-proud title of dead last in tai-jutsu while her nin-jutsu was mediocre. _What if I'm the worst in two classes? _

Iwo-sensei shook his head in a negative. "Every month or so. You won't know who you are scheduled to fight, so this will help pointing out weaknesses. When you become ninja there will be opponents you've never met or heard of, and you need to learn to prepare for anything."

The red-eyed girl sighed as she shuffled into line with the other students. Each step down the hall was like a death gong to her. An eternity later they stood in the practice yard facing the other class. Dust blew up in a haze as the first couple stepped up.

As expected the battle of the leading students was good. Both fighters had near perfect form and execution. It seemed that with every punch sent by her classmate was answered with a swift kick to the face. They rolled and danced around each other in a set of complicated maneuvers Kurenai barely followed, but what ended the battle was a simple bushin. The illusionary copy flickered into existence behind her classmate.

Kurenai felt her pulse surge in excitement as she realized what the other boy was doing. He switched with his copy, something Kurenai would never have thought to try, and attacked from behind. The teachers applauded and made comments before calling up the next combatants.

When it came to be her turn, she was just lucky the face off was with her fellow dead-last.

* * *

Kurenai snarled as she kicked at the smiling ass that was her opponent. His mouth quirked in a grin that asked to admit defeat, and she longed to wipe it off his face. Their classes had been meeting every month for the past year for interclass competitions and now the whole school knew she was the worst. Several had asked her to give up and go into a more girlish business like flower arranging. _Hell no. I'm going to be a ninja…damn it! Why can't I see his, Shit!_

He sent a punch toward her face and Kurenai's eyes went wide in alarm as she leaned back to avoid it. The fist sailed over her and she flipped away, but to her eyes everything about the man appeared slightly blurred. The boy shifted his stance and the only warning Kurenai had were the goosebumps along her arms. She threw herself to the side desperately.

Artic wind swirled through the clearing and sent skirts flying the air, at the same time leaving the area Kurenai once occupied bare rock. All dirt had been scoured away by Asuma's attack.

She coughed and glanced up only to see him standing over her with a superior smirk. "You could have given up, Kurenai-san. Retreat is a perfectly viable tactic."

_That pig-headed ass!_ "DRY UP AND DIE!" Kurenai yelled as she focused her chakra into her leg and kicked. Asuma crumbled. Unknowingly chakra pooled in her eyes causing them to give off a light red glow, and she glared down at the boy. "Shinobi are supposed to finish off their opponents first. Gloat later."

Asuma mutely nodded as she stalked off. He coughed and waited for the teachers to declare the winner, Kurenai.

* * *

Dew drops littered the ground like diamonds. Kurenai sat among them with her eyes closed serenely; a book on meditation lay open in her lap. She breathed in. The land rippled. Diamonds twisted into green stalks that blossomed beautiful white tulips. She exhaled and took in her new environment with a pleased grunt. 

As she hoped every flower was crafted to perfection, and even the best genjutsu user would be hard pressed to find any flaws in them. She had found her niche in the shinobi world. _Next match. I'm going to win. _Kurenai gave a slight wave and the field evaporated into a haze of smoke instead of vanishing instantly as intended. "I suppose I'll have to work on that."

"Kurenai-san!"

She tensed up. "What do you want Asuma?" Her words came out with a ring of steel.

He paused and fumbled in his pockets for something. The boy had been annoying her sense she smashed his family jewels. "I just wanted to…um…give you something as an apology to what I said. It wasn't very sporting of me."

"Sporting? It was a downright insult."

He laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah. Sorry."

"You want to get me something? Get out of my face."

* * *

The bushin was an academy level jutsu that involved making a low grade visionary illusion of the user. It was also the genin test. Kurenai confidently walked to the head of the class and gathered her chakra. The power warmed her chest as her ruby eyes flashed dangerously. 'Bushin no Jutsu." 

Six identical Kurenai's stood along the classroom, one hand on their hips and the other thrust out with a V for victory. Iwo-sensei clapped her on the back as he handed her the steel graduation symbol. _I'm a ninja now. A real ninja…_ Tears of joy threatened to spill over.

She quickly crushed her emotions and gave a sharp salute to her teachers. Iwo-sensei playfully returned the gesture. "Remember, meet here in two days to be assigned to your Jounin-sensei."

"Yes, sir!"

As she left the room with the posture confident and proud Iwo-sensei turned to his comrade. "She certainly has blossomed has she. It's unusual for someone to have an illusionary affinity."

The other man propped his chin in his hand as he went over the role. Twenty more students to go. "Certainly. Though it all depends on her squad leader. If he doesn't cater to her strengths she could fall back…"

"We'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen!" He answered cheerfully and made a note on his clipboard. "Next!"

* * *

Asuma swung his forehead protector around as he shuffled out the door. She had passed with him. He chuckled at the thought of them being on the same team, but it seemed unlikely. Kurenai would probably kill him._ I remember telling her to give up being a ninja. I still haven't done anything to make up for it._ _Perhaps…_

He threw the armor up and shoved it in his pocket next to the packet of tobacco he'd recently picked up. The brunette jogged through the yard searching for the girl. He spotted a mass of curls and launched himself into a nearby bush.

Kurenai swayed as she walked, her hips had already started to come out in their curved glory. He watched her as she waved goodbye to her friends. Parents already arrived and were busy congratulating their children, or consoling those who failed. Asuma frowned. Her mother wasn't standing with others and was in fact no where to be seen. Kurenai didn't appear troubled.

Her thumb traced the swirl on the metal and she marveled at her reflection. _She really is pretty. No one would guess she's a genin._ He calmed himself and stepped from the leaves, but only after checking to be sure she couldn't see him. It would be embarrassing to be caught spying like that. Someone might think he was some form of stalker.

"Kurenai-san."

She turned and her gaze hardened while her tongue remained soft through effort. "How can I help you, Asuma?" Her hands fiddled with the metal and cloth creating an appealing ring. She was unintentionally drawing attention to her forehead protector and Asuma thought it was like she was saying 'I'm a ninja now. I'm not dead-last. I can do things.'

"I said I wanted to apologize…so here." He held out his own graduation gift. The metal glinted in the sun and reflected the shock on her face.

Her hand trembled slightly as she took it, confusion filling her. "Why?"

He looked off to the side and mumbled, "You'll make a great kunoichi. It's me acknowledging that."

Kurenai softened. He wasn't that bad a guy after all. Her hands held both protectors by the dark blue cloth and her feet bounced as she thought. "But now you don't have one…"

He shrugged. "I'll just get a new one later." The boy began to walk away but was stopped. The girl tapped his arm and offered her original forehead protector.

"I believe you'll make a great shinobi, too."

"Heh. Thanks Kurenai-san." He blushed and hurried off.

* * *

Her coffee had long since cooled since he brought it too her that morning. The last Yuhi stirred the murky liquid with a small spoon as she reflected on her life, before and after Asuma. They had been engaged for near 16 years, ever since the exchanging of forehead protectors. Ninja had no need for rings. Unlike civilians who gave bands of gold as symbols of love, shinobi had an old tradition of trading their forehead protectors. While most adults knew this it wasn't until she had told her mother about it she realized what had happened. 

Asuma watched her from his position against the doorway. Over the years they had gone on the occasional date, and his admiration of her grew. She surpassed him when it came to teaching; the woman guarded and trained her students beyond any expectations. When he had been given a group that was born for teamwork, she melded a trio that had almost nothing in common. Shino was silent and hardly offered any insights to his character; Hinata was quite and timid but if one pressed her far enough they had all seen what happened. Kiba was nothing but a firecracker waiting to go off.

She was a miracle worker. She was in his kitchen. She was his betrothed. Gods knew how much he wanted her. It may have been a ninja thing, but something about strong brutal women attracted him.

The chair squeaked unpleasantly as Kurenai pushed away from the table, her drink untouched. She approached him slowly as a blush grew on her cheeks. "Asuma," her hand reached for his vest and began to remove it. "I'll be your wife."

He stroked her hair and let her remove his clothing. They were adults. They were ninja. They needed no ceremony to become husband and wife.

He took hold of her wrapping, slipping his fingers under the fabric, and pulled it free from her body in one smooth motion. Only a single layer of fishnet remained. She pushed him backward toward living area but a few inches away. Kurenai fumbled with his belt and tossed it aside. He backed into the couch and fell over it, carrying her with him. Her near nude body pressed against his and he groaned. "You're beautiful." He breathed in her ear and grabbed a kunai from table to cut away the last vestiges of her clothing.

She giggled and jerked down his pants, at the same time leaning forward to kiss him. His beard tickled and aroused her. He smelled like smoke and charcoal and to her it was an intoxicating aroma.

Asuma sat up and leaned into the kiss, swirling his tongue over her bottom lip and tasting the faint fruit of her lip-gloss. He slid his hands down her arms, and then back up from her hips around her waist. She was so warm. Her tongue reached for his and he gave in to the kiss. He needed her.

Kurenai let out a startled gasp as he broke the kiss and picked her up, stumbling over the upturned furniture. One of his rough hands clutched her bottom, and the tips of his fingers played along her skin. She was placed delicately on the bed as he crawled over her.

She smiled and her eyes took in the surroundings. He traced a scar that ran along her thigh, and the touch sent a shiver up her spine. On a whim she closed her eyes and concentrated. The world fell away to be replaced by a grassy plain and night sky.

Asuma nuzzled her neck in question.

"Let a girl have her fantasies." She whispered and pulled his head closer. Soon they were back to kissing, and with each passing second she felt herself warming to him.

He rubbed her inner thigh softly until she opened for him, and he stepped up. She bit her lip as he plunged inside her. Kurenai winced at the sharp pain echoing in her head, but it quickly gave way to rhythmic pleasure.

She gripped the sheets in an effort to control her urges, and her back arched impressively. "My. Turn." She panted and kicked one leg out, easily flipping and changing places with her husband.

END.


	14. Control

**Control**

**Sanity is very rare: every man almost, and every woman, has a dash of madness.- Ralph Waldo Emerson**

Life couldn't get any better for Hinata Hyuuga. All of her dreams were coming true. Naruto, her purpose for being, was now respected and gaining power. Her village was prospering. Naruto was running around in his boxers…

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata blushed as her favorite creature spotted her. His eyes gleamed and he rebounded off of a trunk, coming toward her with a grin. Hinata reacted by funneling chakra to her feet and leaping up, instantly attaching to the underside of a thick branch. She nervously stared at the bark and tried to think of something other than the half-dressed gorgeous blonde making puppy-eyes at her from below. Sometimes the byakugan was more of a curse than an advantage. _Don't think about it! DO NOT THINK! _

Naruto's hands cupped and back of his head as he looked up at the girl and walked in circles beneath her. The black slits that had replaced his pupils narrowed to near invisibility while thoughts tumbled in within his head. "Hey. Hinata-chan, what are you doing up there? How'd you move without bending your legs?"

She swallowed before answering him. Blood was rushing places it didn't normally go, and the light sheen of moisture on the object of her affections wasn't helping. Her mouth kept watering. "Chakra. Um, Naruto-kun. Why are you in your boxers?" She asked with a blush. A hazy image of her Oni-sama with a shadowy female silhouette taunted her, but she crushed the thought as well as the bark her fingers had dug into. Naruto was not to type to go gallivanting off for sex with random women. He was not. _And isn't Naruto Oni-sama?_

"Oh. So it's like your just doing advanced tree-climbing!" He perked up at the thought and attempted to do the same as the Hyuuga had, but failed. His chakra swirled and surrounded his lower half, especially wrapping around clawed feet, but did not push off the ground with enough force to launch him into the air. He blinked and chuckled nervously before squeezing his eyes shut and trying again.

Hinata chewed her lip thoughtfully before dropping back to ground level and approached him. With her bloodline active she watched the chakra of the demon spill from the seal like water over a dam. There was simply too much- both human and demon- for it to regulate. Naruto's system seemed to be taxed from the pressure and beads of sweat added to the drops of condensation. She licked her lips and shuddered at the raw energy flowing off of the blonde. Small pebbles and sticks floated upward under the force of it, grass bent away from the human shaped powerhouse. The boy even managed to hover about a centimeter off the ground before his chakra coils shut down and he collapsed exhausted.

"Naruto…." Hinata left off and pondered what she had seen. Oni-sama hadn't been doing it properly but his mistake revealed a possibility long thought unattainable by shinobi. True flight. The girl folded her hands together and took a deep breath to calm her heart. What should she do? "Ano…you were doing it wrong."

"Eh? Then show me how to do it right!" Naruto exclaimed with irritation- not at Hinata of course- and dragged himself into a sitting position. The girl could almost see a tail twitching back and forth behind him. She giggled at the thought.

"Well, you can't just force it out." Hinata stood and raised her hands in the 'ram' position. The air shimmered with her chakra, but the display was significantly less than Naruto's had been. It was akin to the haze that covers paved roads on a hot day and yet Naruto watched with rapt attention. His blue eyes darkened to a soft purple as he observed her. "Chakra comes from within, so you have to keep some of it in you. Even with tree walking you match your own chakra to the peaceful flow of the tree, right? Can't get too excited."

"Yeah. Yeah." Naruto nodded quickly, his energy had already returned.

"Then…you focus some of that chakra to your muscles, weave some into the ground itself, and push off. It's easiest to think of your chakra as just another limb and flex it. But you need to remember to release it or you won't be able to stick to anything…"

"Another limb?" Red bubbling masses formed in Naruto's mind and he recalled a battle that had been more like a fight between two animals than ninja. A single flailing tail whipped back and forth as if saying 'you made me.' "I think I got it."

"Hah!" Naruto cried as his hands clapped together and he tried to follow Hinata's instructions. She wasn't as good as Iruka-sensei when it came to explaining things but she wasn't bad.

Curiosity coursed through her veins, and Hinata wondered if it was becoming some sort of habit to look at Naruto's chakra coils. As she had come to expect the blood colored demonic chakra pulsed from the seal and wormed through Naruto's system. Hinata blinked and rubbed her eyes for good measure. _I haven't seen it behave like THAT before. Usually, the Kyuubi's chakra just explodes out but this…it's like it heard what I said._

Whisker marks darkened. Already sharp teeth elongated. Naruto didn't seem to notice the slight changes, and with the way Kyuubi's chakra was acting how could he? Instead of completely overriding Naruto's chakra it was using it as a pattern, boring through it as if the human chakra were hallow. Kyuubi was accentuating attributes Naruto already possessed.

Hinata stepped backward as the demon energy twined through Naruto's legs and drilled into the ground. With her byakugan she saw it twitch and break through the carefully maintained human chakra shell.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed as he flew up and creamed his skull into the branch.

"Naruto-kun!"

"I didn't think it would happen so fast." He touched the top of his head delicately and fingers came away with blood. The blonde stared at it for a minute before licking his fingers clean as if it were the most natural thing the world. Hinata felt the her heart flutter and great yearning welled up within her as she watched him meticulously cleanse the blood.

"You didn't release fast enough, or too fast." The girl mumbled and she tried to wipe the blood from the already healed wound. _It was difficult to see what Naruto-kun was doing with the Kyuubi's activities distracting me._ "I'm sorry. I can't clean this any better without water." She lowered her eyes to her bloodstained fingertips at the admission.

"That's alright, Hinata-chan." He took hold of her hands, they went limp at the touch, and began licking them clean. "There's a small stream over that-a-way. I wonder if my clothes are dry yet…" He managed to get out around her delicate fingers.

Hinata blushed lightly as her blood pressure rose, and her eyes went glassy. "Uh…uh huh." Several fantasy's built themselves and she felt empty. She needed to fill the space within her. "N-Naruto?"

"Yeah. I was supposed to be training my control with water walking, but then I thought, 'Hinata's got to have a lot of control' so I was wondering if you could help. And I fell in. So then I put my clothes on a tree branch…"

Naruto continued his story and Hinata nodded at the appropriate moments. _He was thinking about me! He came to me for help._ A tiny bit of drool leaked out of the corner of her mouth. _Naruto wants me. _

She refocused on the boy, and inwardly moaned as the sunlight bathed his body. His bestial features appealed to the girl more than any pretty boy, and muscles normally hidden beneath baggy orange clothing were clearly visible. Combined with her thoughts and memories of earlier, Hinata grew wet.

She shuffled closer until their knee's practically touched. Naruto's nose twitched. His eyes darkened. "Hinata-chan… you smell different."

"R-really?"

Naruto leaned forward to sniffed at her neck, and the sound of her rapid pulse thundered pleasantly in his ears. "Hmmm." His head lowered as he followed the origin of the strange smell while Hinata's fingers twitched. She wouldn't stop him. She wanted him, and it was better if he started it. She wouldn't dare presume his wishes with her.

It was much too hot. As Naruto approached her crotch she unzipped her coat and sighed as the cool air touched her skin. Naruto looked up and got a clear view of her breasts. _Hinata's got the largest set in our age group…_

Naruto felt IT stir. IT wanted something. He was confused. He wanted it too. Hinata gasped as another tread of chakra rippled through Naruto, and this time it didn't receded back to the seal. Naruto's eyes had become a dark purple as he cupped her chin with a clawed hand and kissed her.

Hinata closed her eyes and felt his tongue probe her mouth and the other hand reached for her pants. Hinata arched as she felt his fingers stroke the entrance to her vagina. It…tickled. Hinata giggled and Naruto took this as encouragement. He pulled her clothing down and rubbed her clitoris with a knuckle wet from Hinata's juices.

Her hands moved to take off Naruto's boxers but he pinned her down and halted their removal. "Hinata-chan…I'm in control."

He grinned and nuzzled her cleavage as she gave in, blissful in his attentions. Hinata was surprised at how gentle he was, and how careful he was not to accidentally hurt her with his claws as he stroked her parts and would smeared her juices around with his tongue.

* * *

Hinata shifted her eyes and smiled at Naruto's growing erection. After so long, she was going to have him fill her. 

"Naruto! Gaara's looking for you!" A yell came from the bushes accompanied by a bark.

The blonde paused with his thumbs beneath the waistband of his boxers.

Hinata wanted to murder someone.

Kiba blinked at the scene and drooled at the scene he had stumbled into. Hinata's breasts were bare except for a layer of fishnet, and her nipples pressed against them. Naruto sighed from his position over her. "You're such a mood-killer."

Hinata sighed and stumbled into a crouch, with fluid still leaking out of her vagina. She entertained the idea of putting Kiba through pain but in the end she decided she was happy in the knowledge that Naruto wanted to fuck her. Having one orgasm was enough.

Kiba tossed Naruto's things over while giving his fellow ninja a thumbs up sign once he regained his faculties. "You too are great together. Naruto, you have my blessings to fuck Hinata senseless!"

Naruto grinned and put on his pants while Hinata stumbled to find her own. Where had he thrown them?

END.


	15. Homecoming

**Homecoming**

**Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.-Aeschylus**

There was something about leaving Suna that all Suna shinobi noticed, but foreigners did not. After living in the arid wasteland that was their birthplace, crossing into another country was like slamming into a wall full force. The contrast in humidity became such that on a rare occasion a genin would pass out on their first mission away.

As Gaara ran with his siblings into the forest he felt the change despite his armor. This time however, it was different. Instead of a shocking coolness that stifled the ninja, it was more of a warm embrace. He could sense Temari stiffen as the feeling hit her, and Kankuro let out a hiss.

"G-Gaara." Temari questioned unsettled by the alien feeling on her skin. "Are you _positive _this is a good thing. I'm sure Baki-sensei would drop any charges if we go back." Gaara ignored her. He had already explained once that he wanted to go, and they were coming. There was no room for discussion.

Kankuro lagged behind them, one puppet attached to his back and the other crawling along the trees. While they were still moving in the dessert he had been able to keep pace but now with all the obstacles it was difficult to move the large puppet. "Damn it!" The child of the former Kazekage was beginning to regret putting his training off when it came to writing scrolls.

"Move it Kankuro! We'll have to wait another day if you don't hurry up!" Temari groused, briefly turning around and tree-hopping backwards. Not the smartest thing to do, but she had scanned the next few jumps and committed them to memory.

"This isn't as…wait a sec…I'm A GENUIS!" Kankuro shouted as he changed his trajectory and landed on the large salamander like puppet. He reached for a small indent on the back of the puppet for a handhold, and used his remaining free hand to manipulate it via chakra strings. "Bwahaha!"

Temari watched him essentially ride the huge thing though the tree's with apprehension. _Now, why have no puppet users thought of that before? There must be some sort of drawback… shouldn't there be?_

Kankuro turned his head to look at the blonde girl, grinning like a Cheshire cat with his make-up. "Come ON Temari. Who's falling behind now?"

Gaara growled out with a hint of satisfaction, "That's good, now we can be there by noon."

"Eh?!"

Gaara pushed off the branch with a bit more force than before, and his sand swirled in response easily increasing his speed. Kankuro groaned but said nothing else as the blue energy threads he used thickened. Temari wiped some sweat from her brow but said nothing as she focused her natural wind element to boost her velocity and hoped that her chakra held out. Gaara was a hard task master.

* * *

Temari was panting by the time he let them stop. Kankuro was mildly winded, but it was more from chakra exhaustion than physical work. Gaara seemed to be waiting for something and the girl took the opportunity to badger the one wearing face paint. "What the hell! Couldn't you let me ride with you?" 

Kankuro yawned. "No."

She steamed and shifted her battle fan threateningly. "You are the biggest jerk I've ever met."

"Stop." Temari bit off her next few remarks and looked up. A man stood before them with a leaf forehead protector wrapped around his arm and an ANBU sword at his waist. Temari swallowed nervously, _why would he not wear the uniform? Where is his mask? He could kill me, Kankuro. Not Gaara… but we don't have any passports._

The former ANBU crossed his arms and squat down. A smile slowly spread on the man's face and his eyes twinkled with something that the girl didn't like. As she stood there waiting for his decision, because it was completely acceptable for a native shinobi to kill an undocumented foreign nin. "So… what do we have here? Suna shinobi? Come back for another go at killing us all?"

Kankuro sneered. He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box when it came to analyzing situations. It was said that the puppet user was his field's greatest prodigy since Sasori. The praise did wonders for his ego that Temari often lamented. "Do you make a habit of talking in plural?"

"Actually…we do." The ANBU smiled wildly and Gaara sniffed the air. Blood. The man smelt of blood despite being perfectly clean. It was strangely pleasant.

"I am Gaara of the Sand, these are my siblings. We did not come with the intention to slaughter you all." Near the end of the sentence Gaara's normally monotone voice became deeper, more sinister. The ANBU paused but appeared unaffected.

"Gaara? I've heard about you." He clapped his hands together and stood up. "Why don't you come back to the village. Naruto-sama _suggested_ that you should be welcomed. Couldn't figure out why until now."

Temari's heart nearly stopped. "N-naruto-SAMA?! That little shrimp?"

The cool touch of metal brushed against her throat and though she sensed the ANBU move, she would never have been able to keep up with him. "Never call Naruto-sama a shrimp in our presence."

Kankuro tensed. Gaara stood passively as the ANBU dragged his weapon across her throat to draw a thin line of blood. As the blonde stood under the scrutiny and smelled the life flowing from her, she recognized the scent wafting off her attacker. Blood.

"Blood." Temari whispered the word as he released her.

"What? We don't see any."

Temari wiped the red from her neck. "You must be insane."

"It is said that no one can go through ANBU without dying or developing some habits. Anywho, let's be off!"

"Like hell! You attacked-"

"Kankuro!" Gaara growled out in warning as he held his arm in front of his brother. "We will be following our guide."

Within two miles the threesome noticed distinct differences since the last time they had passed through Konoha's forest. Groups of civilians and shinobi were working on digging deep ditches in the earth. The smell of death permeated the air.

Just breathing set Temari and Kankuro's nerves on edge.

"Rai-san!" The voice that called out to the siblings crazed escort was far too high pitched to be anything but a child. The small girl had her hair streaming out behind her as she ran toward the group, several pairs of sharp scissors hung from her belt.

"Hello, Minako-chan." The girl skipped around the group, her dirt marred nose testament to her efforts on the ditch project. Rai, as the former ANBU had been identified, watched her carefully. He didn't trust children running with scissors. "Where is your mother?"

"She's arguing with Hebi-san about slopes. Who are these people?"

"This is Temari-san, Kankuro-san, and Gaara-sama. They're guests of Naruto-sama."

She clapped her hands excitedly. "Really? Like really really? I didn't know we had visitors." She rounded on the Suna nin. "Where are you from? Was it nice there? What's your favorite dish? Do you prefer paper or plastic? What's the square root of 1? What is 'I'? Why do you have your hair in four ponytails? My mommy doesn't let me play with her make-up-"

"That's enough Minako-chan. Our guests must be going. Do you know where Iruka-sensei is?"

"Nope!"

"Well then… we shall press on." Rai lead his group away from the girl and into the city proper that looked surprisingly well for its history. The business section was already back up and running, and the residents had taken the opportunity to install the latest technology.

Functioning street lamps lined the paved walk ways establishing a somewhat lighter atmosphere for the foreign shinobi. "Rai-san." Kankuro hazarded tentatively, most unlike himself. "I am curious… what exactly did you use to give the streets such a unique shade?"

"We haven't the faintest idea what you mean."

Gaara studied the cool cement. "It's blood."

Temari clasped a hand over her mouth and forced herself forward, trying not to puke. For so much death in one place, she couldn't understand how they could stand it. Even a hardened shinobi would be affected by the dark miasma of energies surrounding the village.

"Temari-san? You look pale." Worried. And it wasn't either of her brothers. It was some…chuunin? With a scar across his nose and a file of papers in his arms.

"Iruka-sensei! Guess who we found in the forest!"

"I can see them…" to himself he mumbled, "ANBU, take away their dress-up outfits and they're just like big kids."

"Heh. Well kiddies this is where we leave you." He vanished.

Iruka eyed the group. "I can set you up with some separate rooms if you would like, or you can have your own in the mansion."

"Mansion?" Kankuro questioned.

"The Uchiha district has been converted to a residential. The main house is used as head-quarters for all shinobi."

Gaara hesitated only a moment. "I would like that."

His brother and sister exchanged a look. It didn't seem wise for them to stay surrounded by the people they had attacked. Despite helping out on a previous mission it wasn't unknown for a village to hold grudges for generations. What was Gaara's goal?

"Could we get a room for all three of us?"

* * *

Gaara walked through the village to familiarize himself with the new layout. It was comforting. No one looked at him with fear in their eyes. There was something, but it was more of unknown apprehension than out right fear of his inner demon. Naruto had done well for himself. Now though, he just wanted to find the blonde that inspired him to try taking care of those fragile things called bonds. 

The two of them he actually recognized.

Naruto was easy to spot. The blonde walked with a sort of happy gait that seemed much more natural on him than before. Gaara remembered the boy being much more cautious, only speaking out when he was sure of himself. It was a forced joy that the red head admired, it was Naruto refusing to become what the villages see him as… saw him as.

The boy had changed much from when they fought. His whisker marks, the sign of demon containment, were far thicker and edgier than last time and his eyes had changed from a crystalline blue to deep purple with slits. His hair was marginally longer, and Gaara thought he caught a bit red at the tips, but it may have been a trick of the light. Inch long claws grew from his hands, and matching canines reminded Gaara of the boy Naruto had fought during the preliminaries. Naruto had changed, but his smile was the same.

"Naruto." Gaara spoke in his normal, almost lazy voice but Naruto instantly turned from the person he had been in conversation with. It was the girl he had cheered on when no one else would, the small girl Hyuuga. Her name? Hinata. After returning to Suna he had requested information on all the genin that his idol had taken noticeable interest in. With Gaara's memory he could tell you her favorite dish and color at the drop of a hat.

"Hey, Gaara! I didn't know you were here!" The blonde shouted happily and dragged his companion over to the stoic red head. She let herself be herded, a small content smile adorned her face. "When did you arrive?"

"Late this afternoon. We wanted to request official title as Leaf Nin."

Hinata's eyes focused in and she stepped up. "We?" _Gaara is strong, but weak. He couldn't step up to the challenge Oni-sama did. Does he deserve to be part of this dream?_

Gaara stared at her for several seconds before answering. "My siblings and I. We have defected from Sunagakure."

"There would be-"

"Of course! You're always welcomed here." Naruto broke in Hinata's speech and quickly hugged the red head. Gaara stiffened and his sand threatened to wedge itself between the two bodies and burst them apart. Oddly enough, it suddenly calmed and Gaara took his cue from that.

Hinata watched the exchange quietly. If Oni-sama liked the weak demon, she would too. But he would always be weaker in her eyes. She placed a hand a hand on each of the boys shoulders and nudged them apart. "Gaara-san, there is a minimal amount of paper work that needs to be done, in order to keep track of who we have and who we do not."

He nodded. "It shall be done." Gaara turned back to his first true friend. "What made you decide this course of action?"

Naruto smiled and wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist. She positively glowed at the attention. "Hinata."

Gaara decided that Suna's intelligence network wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

END.


	16. Through a Childs Eyes

**Through a Child's Eyes**

**One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts get in the way of your imagination.-Sam Levenson**

It was a small house her grandparents had picked. Once an antique store, after moving in they had converted the storefront to a living and dining room with all the bedrooms were upstairs. Moegi sighed tiredly as her stiff muscles pushed open the swinging door. Immediately she found her face planted in the bosom of her beloved grandmother.

"My Moe-chan! How has your day been? Have you gotten in good training? Hmm?" The old woman asked as she held her granddaughter tightly. The pony-tailed girl's cheeks were so cute when red!

"Oba-san!" Moegi cried and wriggled. Everything was training to her grandparents. Even welcome home hugs. She had descended from a long, though not prestigious, line of shinobi. All of her family had made chuunin, half Jounin, but only a select few ANBU. Her grandparents were among those few and though they often were overprotective of her, they didn't allow for slouching.

Moegi twisted, and disgusting herself with the action, she used her own sweat to loosen Oba-san's grip. The small girl fell free and rolled between the larger woman's legs before side-stepping the imposing form of her grandfather and calling 'base' as her hand slapped against the arm of the couch.

"Very good Moegi-chan." Her grandfather clapped appreciatively.

"That's my girl." The old woman called with a smile as she headed to the kitchen for refreshments.

Moegi slumped on the couch exhausted. The Shinobi Academy classes had finally resumed on a constant basis. On the downside, their teachers were erratic and random from kind Iruka-sensei reviewing their chakra control to the _eccentric_ Gai training their stamina. All in all, it had come from the parents that their children receive a much more rounded education than they did, but the students screamed for reprieve. Moegi had to run no less than 60 laps before she was allowed to come home.

Her grandfather's gray eyes twinkled as he sipped his tea. Moegi opened her mouth and let her grandmother feed her cookies. She needed the sugar. "So, how were things today?"

"Simple, but tiring. Gai-sensei had us do pushups for an hour; I lost count of how many I did, and then made us run. He left his apprentice in charge halfway through. Rock Lee I think. He was a bit easier… at least he wasn't timing us." Meogi answered around her cookies. As the food metabolized, she sat up and began eating faster.

"That's good. I've always worried about teachers being too soft on you young'uns; not preparing you for real life."

"Huh?"

"Take that Sasuke brat. He should have known some people go crazy, and everyone dies. Not his fault. If he had been taught this fact, I bet he'd still be with us today. Like the Kyuubi boy. He knows what's what."

Moegi paused in her cookie eating. Even after the purge, she never heard anyone refer to Naruto as "Kyuubi boy". He was either Naruto, Naruto-kun, or Naruto-sama. "Why do you call Nii-san Kyuubi? He isn't the fox demon."

"That's where you're wrong girl." The old man leaned back and lit a pipe. "See, when the forth sealed the Kyuubi, he used a seal that, well, if the technique hadn't killed him someone else would have. The seal is designed to leak demon chakra but doing so also weakens the seal. Eventually it will no longer exist. Doing so will cause one of two things to happen, either the boy dies from using too much demon energy, or he becomes the Kyuubi. As he isn't dead yet I can only assume he is becoming the demon."

"No! Nii-san is not a demon! He didn't kill mom and dad!" Meogi screamed and slammed down her plate of cookies. Her grandmother hissed in a disapproving manner at the outburst but rested her hands on the girl's shoulders in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

"We didn't say he did, dear." The old woman spoke. "Yes your parent's died in the Kyuubi attack, but that doesn't mean anything. They were proud shinobi of Konoha. They fully expected to die in battle and couldn't have wished for anything more. If anything, the Kyuubi helped them; he granted them their hearts desire."

Moegi sniffled. "So then that means… killing is good?"

Her grandparents shook their heads. This is what they should have been emphasizing in the academy, not teamwork. "Killing is not good, but it is natural. Without death, the world would not grow. Those who can avoid death are lucky, unimaginably so, but they see everything they know crumble around them. We mourn those who die, but not because they are dead. We mourn the time we can no longer spend with them." The man joined his family on the couch and kissed his wife's cheek.

"There are only two things you can do in this world, Meo-chan. You can sit on the sidelines and watch everything around you change, or you can learn how to make things change. That is why we are shinobi. We want to make a difference. Do you understand?"

"No. Not entirely but I… I think I'm getting there. I'm going to train, and then I can help protect my friends and maybe… maybe I can change how the world see's things. For mom and dad."

"That's my girl."

* * *

Udon wiped his nose for the fiftieth time before giving it up and searching his pockets for a tissue. Ever since his father had been killed in the Sand-Sound invasion he lived in the orphanage by choice. There was no way in the seven hells he would go to that _woman_ for help. She wasn't his mom; granted he didn't know who his mother was, but defiantly not her, and he never liked her attitude anyway. Was it wrong to be glad someone died? 

"Welcome back, Udon!" The new mistress of the place greeted as she swept the sidewalk. Her hair was deep purple and very long. Her frustrated and angry demeanor had done a one-eighty since the old orphanage and mistress burned in the purge. Now instead of a cramped old house they lived in a rather large one. There were enough rooms so that only two people shared one instead of five. The food was better, and it was warm.

"'Afternoon Naomi-san." Udon politely replied. His father had taught him that good manners could get one into places that raw power could not.

"Dinner will be cabbage stew with rolls."

"Sounds good."

Udon wandered till he found his bed and climbed onto it. He shared the room with a four year old. The smaller child wasn't too annoying. _I wonder what Moegi and Konohamaru are doing?_

Udon rolled over and began tossing sharpened pencils at the board across the room. So used to the fluid motion and snap of the wrist, he didn't even have to look at his target. The pencils thudded into the cork one after the other, slowly revealing themselves to be the symbol of Konoha.

"That's a leaf, right?"

Udon shifted so he could see the little boy. "Yeah."

"You got snot running down you're chin."

"I don't feel like dealing with it."

"Oh… can you teach me how to do that?"

"Wait till next year. Then you're body will be developed enough not to fall apart under the training."

"Okay. Why do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Fight. I always get scarred when people yell at me."

"Because if I don't I won't get better."

"Why do you need to get better?"

"Because I'll get left behind if I don't."

"Who would leave you behind?"

"Everyone else who is training."

"Why are they training?"

"Because they want to be better."

"Why would they want to be better?"

_This is going to be a looooong night._

* * *

Konohamaru sat with his chin in his hands from the balcony. The wind blew harshly and threatened to take his scarf away but he simply tugged it closer. The young boy - youngest of the Sarutobi line - reached up to remove the skull cap topping his head. Long ago, it had been a gift from his grandfather. "Oji-san…" Konohamaru lamented as a few tears slid down his cheeks. 

What drove the old man to ignorance? Had he not seen the corruption within the village he had named his grandson after? Did he not want to see it? "Konohamaru-kun?"

Konohamaru wiped his nose quickly and twisted to see Moegi standing with Udon, each of them held spears reduced to their height. "Hey guys..."

Moegi tilted her head to the side and watched as the wind blew her friends now-free-hair. It was surprisingly dark beneath the skull cap, and very fine. The strands lay flat along his head and slowly turned sun-dyed brown. "Are you alright?"

Udon walked forward offering a handkerchief. For some reason, he had inherited his father's constant state of illness and always carried with him various painkillers, bandages, tissues, and cough drops. Konohamaru accepted the thing and blew hard while trying to maintain his happy exterior. "I'm fine. It's just a little cold up here that's all."

"Umm." Moegi rested her staff against the wall and sat down beside her friend. She knew something was up. Konohamaru was practically always energetic, a trait he and their 'leader' shared. The girl slowly removed her two hair ties and ran her fingers through the red strands in an attempt to make them lie flat.

"You know, this whole thing has been kinda crazy." Udon muttered as he pocketed his now used handkerchief.

"What do you mean."

"Well, I'm an orphan. Moegi is raised by her grandparents, but what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Ebisu-sensei used to watch over ya… but who now?"

Konohamaru gripped the leather hat so hard it squeaked. "No one. Just like Nii-san… I've been taking care of myself."

Moegi curled her toes and fidgeted. She couldn't understand what it would be like to not find Oba-san and Oji-san waiting for her every night. _Now that I think about it… who did Konohamaru live with before? Ebisu only picked him up in the morning for lessons, Sandime-sama worked as Hokage all the time…_ "No you're not." Moegi wrapped her arms him, and a glare was all it took to get Udon to do the same. "Nii-san has his friends, you have us."

Konohamaru froze and let the words sink in. Udon and Moegi had never seen him as the Third's grandson. In their eyes he was just Konohamaru, their friend. Companion. _To protect my precious people, Nii-san, that's my way of the ninja._ While enveloped by the two bodies of his friends Konohamaru released his death grip on the skull cap and let it blow away. The past was the past for a reason. They couldn't change it, the future on the other hand…

"It's good to see you, Konohamaru."

"Hinata-chan!" The three friends cried in surprise as the Hyuuga walked toward them, a small spear in her hands.

"Moegi, Udon." She nodded at each in turn. The two children smiled and gripped their own spears anticipating what was to happen. Hinata had a plan. She wanted them to be apart of it, and this one had less immediate bloodshed. "Are you feeling alright, Konohamaru-kun?"

"Yes." He eyed the weapon she held with a small amount of jealously. The wood was darker than that of Moegi's and Udon's, with faint seals painted in blood. The impaling end was some sort of glass or crystal and when it caught the light Konohamaru could see a tiny blue flame within it. "What is that? Moegi and Udon have one, is it new weaponary?"

"In a way, but only a small few will receive it. Too difficult to make."

"Oh." Konohamaru sighed in disappointment.

"Konohamaru-kun, how much do you care for Naruto?" Hinata asked while spinning the weapon.

"Much." He rocked forward with the word and grinned. "Nii-san taught me what it means to be a shinobi and… how to find true friends."

Moegi blushed and Udon coughed.

"Would you die for him?"

Konohamru blinked, before getting angry. "Of course I would die for Nii-san! We're Konoha shinobi aren't we?!"

Moegi held her hand out to calm Konohamaru. "That doesn't mean we have to die. I think she means, would you put everything on the line to protect Nii-san."

"Why would Naruto nii-san need protection?"

Hinata sat on her ankles and addressed the boy. He came from a line of strong shinobi, one of which was a Hokage. He would be instrumental in her perfect world. "Sometimes one skilled person can take out an army. Sometimes that army can take out the person. What I'm asking you to do is train. Train until you are that one person, and then become Naruto-kun's personal guard. Moegi and Udon have already made their choice."

Konohamaru looked into the blue flame that danced in the crystal tipped spear. It called to him. "I want to protect Nii-san."

Hinata held out the spear. "Good. This is a chakra spear. It's unbreakable, and it will be your primary weapon as Oni-sama's personal guard. You can channel chakra into it, and it shall naturally form it to you're affinity as a weapon. For example, Moegi has fire affinity and she was able to shoot a fireball from the tip."

"Naruto doesn't know about this yet. Don't tell him. I've set it up so you will get separate training for half your school day. Can you do it?"

Konohamaru gripped the weapon and smiled as it tuned into his chakra. Sparks burst from the tip and Hinata smiled in surprise. "We can do it!" He grinned impishly. "Dattebayo!"

END.


	17. Truth of the Sharingan

**Dreams of Demons**

**A/N- I would applaud all those who tried to guess just what I had in store for Kakashi. Some were…unique…others played to the physiological suffering. All were good but all wrong. I'm kinda proud of myself because of that. Now go on and read the chapter, enjoy it! **

**Truth of the Sharingan**

How long ago had he heard her speak those fateful words in his ear? His mask long since torn off and he ran through the black cave as fast as he could. The white haired child ran in the bleak darkness, not knowing if he ran toward an exit or if he merely progressed deeper into the underground prison. Something tugged at his wrist and he turned quickly, striking with a kick to dislodge whatever had grabbed him. _Oh no…kami-sama…not Rin._

The kunoichi cried out when her teammate's foot collided with the arm she managed to raise in a block. She sat on the ground, whimpering. "Please, Kakashi-san. Don't hurt us anymore. Just leave us. Let us die in peace!"

A soft glowing light surrounded the girl, leaving all else in the same pitch black. Rin cried while holding onto a familiar pair of goggles. _Obito._ "I'm sorry, where is he? Can we save him?"

When the nightmare had first started, Kakashi believed it was only a sick and twisted genjutsu, but – as time went on – he forgot. He succumbed to the illusion, lost in a dream world so intricate it was as if it came from his own mind. The pinprick marks on his arm faded, and he dismissed the occasional suffocating smoke as just another part of the never ending cave that tormented him. He had to find his team, and he had to save them, but each time he failed. Now he had done even worse. He had hurt Rin.

"She hates you."

Kakashi spun looking for the source of the voice. _It has to be a stone nin! Has to!_

"I hate you Kakashi-san." Rin spoke as she curled around the goggles. "Obito hated you too. You left me, even after I healed you! You left me to be raped and killed! You left Obito to suffocate under those bolders and stole his eye for power! You're DISGUSTING! LOWER THAN THE LOWEST TRASH! YOU FEED ON IT, LIKE A COCROACH, WORSE THAN A ROACH!"

Kakashi backed away from the screaming figure of his old teammate and looked down at his hands. _I am worse. I let them down. All for the mission. A stupid mission and a stupid village._ Kakashi began to cough as smoke filled his lungs and the world tipped once again. Everything dulled, and he floated in a void as a bodiless voice whispered to him. "You left Obito, crushed. Can't you imagine his pain, his final thoughts?"

"No…he was…"

"Kakashi. You made Jounin before us, but you shouldn't have." A mutilated corpse slurred out. Half of his jaw sagged, hanging only a by a single strand of muscle. Yellow jelly dripped down the same side of his face, and an empty socket stared out from the one intact side. His leg dragged behind him and was missing its foot. "You can't take care of your team. You never have, always acting tough but having to be rescued. You let me die; you stole my EYE!"

The corpse reached forward with a bony hand and wrapped around Kakashi's throat. Several maggots spilled from his mouth and he grinned in a way that only the dead can. "O-Obito. I'm sorry I, didn't mean for-"

"You didn't mean for anything!" The rotting body shook the Hatake furiously. "You didn't mean to let Rin get captured. You didn't mean for me to die. You didn't want to spoil your perfect record. Know what?" Obito's body leaned forward to whisper in his prisoner's ear. "You didn't mean to loose my cousin. You wouldn't want to loose such potential, right? You let me die. You let him leave. You let Rin and Me waste, just like the last time."

"Last time..?"

Suddenly Kakashi saw it. The corpse Obito shifted to allow Kakashi to look on and watch the scene from when they had taken their team photo. Slowly, Rin's hair turned to soft bubblegum pink and her clothing changed but she had the same contented and happy appearance. Obito's goggles shifted design and his clothing turned into a familiar orange jumpsuit Kakashi had nearly forgotten, and his hair became a brilliant yellow. Tears flowed from the hardened Jounin as his child form grew, white hair darkened to black, and the mask vanished but the cold and annoyed demeanor did not.

"You always serve yourself Kakashi. You're nothing like our Sensei was. Before you only did things that would make you look good. You've done it again. Admit it. ADMIT IT! YOU ARE TRASH!"

"I-I admit it. I'm worthless. I let everyone down. I let you down. I let Rin down. I ruin everything that matters to me."

"Ne, that wasn't so hard was it…come back to the light."

* * *

Hinata stood over the weakened form of Kakashi. She took a syringe from her helper and injected the solution into the former jounin. His pupils remained dilated, but after spending weeks in a drug-induced haze it was to be expected. Hopefully, the solution Tsunade cooked up would counteract the hallucinogens and she would be able to get useful information from him before he died. 

"Hinata?"

Hinata's eyes took in the heap before her. It was obvious he was far from healthy with his eyes sunk into his head and bones threatening to break through skin. Kakashi was little more than a skeleton with a skin coat. "Could you save them?" She asked with a smile.

"N-no. I never could…I always fail them. Always." The man curled up with his knees pressed to his chest and fell silent. Hinata waved her servants away and knelt down to pat his shoulder.

"You can make up for it, Kakashi-sensei."

"T-that's right…I'm a sensei, aren't I?"

"Tell me, teach me about the Sharingan. What do you know about it?" Hinata asked hungrily. She wanted to know its drawbacks and weaknesses. She had to know, and with that knowledge she and Oni-sama would kill the remainders of the Uchiha Clan. When Kakashi had first been captured he refused to talk, but now he was weak, mentally and physically.

If there was one thing Hinata learned from Ibiki, it was that no one can frighten another more than they can themselves. Kakashi was given a near lethal mixture of 'acids' and other hallucinatory drugs and left alone in a large, reinforced room. What made the mix work was that like its recreational counterpart, the hallucinations would only show what was _suggested._ Hinata remembered when she left the room, absently commenting on the loss of Obito Uchiha and asking if Kakashi still remembered the day. Kakashi's own imagination took it from there.

The first few days he tried to break it like a genjutsu, but the drugs would not leave his system, not when he was constantly being administered more in either a smoke form or drink.

Kakashi glanced up. "The sharingan…I stole it. I don't deserve it…" His finger like claws, the man reached for his ill gotten eye.

_No! I can't have him die yet!_ Hinata gripped his wrist with difficultly, realizing that he still had much of his old strength. "You don't deserve to die like this. If you rip it out…" Hinata panted as she wrestled with the Kakashi. "you'll die of blood loss!"

He stopped struggling and closed his eyes, unable to think about the fact that he was seeing through what once belonged to his best friend. "The Sharingan requires incredible amounts of chakra to activate. That's one of the reasons that those who activate it at such young ages are considered prodigies; they have to be powerful to have enough chakra to use it. Did you know that Uchiha's didn't consider someone an adult until they could use the fireball technique, and normal genin can't master that until after at least a year of training? Over time, Uchiha bodies have adapted and are evolving to specialize in focusing and maintaining chakra around the eyes. Truthfully… with enough training…and time…and chakra to waste…anyone could use the sharingan. Why do you think it transfers so easily, but has to already be activated in order to work? Unless it is activated, it's just a normal eye.

"The magenkyo sharingan, that's the best example. Itachi Uchiha claimed that in order to achieve it, one must kill their best friend, that's a lie. I got it to work, for one minute, just by increasing how much chakra I used with a normal sharingan."

Hinata leaned back in shock. "So… it isn't a true bloodline?"

"It is, and it isn't… as I said Uchiha bodies have changed to handle large amounts of chakra and funnel it to the needed places. When watching an opponent fight, the Sharingan records everything in the brain. The downside to this is that it cuts down on originality. If they rely on their ability to read and copy their enemies, they become incapable of learning on their own. Their minds just stop thinking, and all they can do is copy."

"So then… it is more like a _ninjutsu_ technique with one family specializing in it, like the Yamanaka's and Nara's."

"Yes."

Hinata stood up and stretched. If word got out that the sharingan could be attained by anyone, anywhere, another great shinobi war could start! She held her palm out and prepared to strike his heart, when Ino came running in.

"Hinata! Stone ninja have been spotted, they're headed here!"

"What? How many of them are there?"

Ino fingered a small container that dangled from her waist. "Is an army enough for you? They'll be here in two hours!"

Hinata turned to Kakashi. She held her hand out to him in askance. "Kakashi-sensei, do you want to redeem yourself? Fight with us. Avenge your fallen teammates… the third great ninja war isn't over yet."

As the last vestiges of the drug hit his brain, Kakashi instantly felt as if he was somewhat smaller, and this girl could be one of his classmates. _The Stone ninja are attacking Konoha directly_! "I'll kill them… for Obito."

END.

**A/N- HA! The Sharingan isn't a bloodline after all! Well, it is, but it isn't. It's like how people who live in cold areas deal with it better than people from warm places. Of course Sasuke doesn't know this, he couldn't have with all his family dead, and Kakashi figured it out over time. I'm certain I'm the first writer to do this. I feel absolutely evil, but it's just the hormones, and the Wicker Man. **

**That movie killed my drive to write for about a week. It left me unsatisfied. I wanted the sacrifice thing to fall over and burn all the villagers too. Stupid movie…**

**Anyway, I'll try to start on the next chapter Monday. It may take some time to finish though, because I want it to be packed with enough gore and righteous death to fill my lunchbox. **

**In case anyone was wondering, my brother is the inspiration for Kakashi. I swear, after eating some shrooms he kept turning his bedroom light on and off saying, 'Where am I? This isn't my room! Whose dog is this?' Apparently he thought he was 12 again and back at our old house. So as a word of warning, stay away from blue mushrooms! They do not give you extra life! Mario lies to you! **


	18. Killing Ground

**Killing Ground**

**Dreams are only realities that are not yet. – L. Polk**

Sasuke watched his guards with contempt. Orochimaru felt that with the coming invasion, his prized Uchiha might feel the need to _visit_ his old home. _Like I would ever care about that place._

Memories of his teammates and teacher floated around, and his chest tightened. Sasuke took a breath and silently removed his blade from its sheath. Faceless guard number one cocked his head at the faint rustle of Sasuke's clothing, but he didn't investigate further. Sasuke smirked. _Orochimaru has plenty of minions, he won't really care if I knock off one or two._

The Uchiha activated his Sharingan fully and charged the first guard. The man in gray camo spun at the last minute and blocked with a kunai. "Oi kid, Orochimaru-sama said you might try something. Back down, he doesn't want you out on the front lines."

"I don't care what that old man wants." Sasuke replied as he bent backward, surprising the guard with lack of resistance. The second one moved to intercerpt Sasuke but instead he found himself impaled on his partner's kunai. Sasuke flipped the sword handle around in his palm and spun, holding the blade diagonally away from his body. When the first guard attempted to grab hold of the boy, he failed as the blade sliced off his wrist. Sasuke looked like he was dancing as he avoided the attacks of other Sound nin, having been called because of the commotion. "This is boring. Can't you do any better?"

"Why you little… just because you're Orochimaru's pet don't think we'll let that slide!"

Sasuke's smirk turned into a mad grin as his Sharingan blazed and he charged the group. _If I can't defeat these people here and now…there's no way I'll be able to stand against Itachi. This must be a test Orochimaru set up…and I haven't failed one yet._

* * *

Lee's green clothing blended in eerily well with the forest as he held still, waiting for the opportune moment. Ino had gone ahead to alert the village while he hid. _I am Konoha's green beast; I stalk my prey, silent and skillful before striking. _The boy watched the parade of gray camouflaged and grey clothed shinobi pass, undetected. When the last one had passed, Lee dropped to the ground and followed, a single kunai in hand. 

Ino and he had been spying on the Stone Village, or rather Ino had. Lee merely took care of her body as she infiltrated the various villages. Iwa had actually been the third village they had scouted out, but the first to reveal hints of attack. The Yamanaka managed to take over an Iwa Chunin whose group was completing the paperwork for a large weaponry purchase. Lee had to admire the girl, she was an expert actress and it wasn't until she started asking questions that they realized there was an intruder.

Still, two undiscovered was pretty good in Lee's book. Ino barely managed to leave the body before it was killed by former companions. Lee had been holed up several miles from her position and it was an hour before she made it back into her body; meanwhile Lee had to defend her still form while being attacked by two enemy ninja.

The taijutsu user suffered several cuts, one to his hair, but by the time Ino woke he had finished off one of the shinobi and Ino blew up the second when Lee had him distracted. She rolled an explosive note into a ball and let it fall harmlessly beneath their opponent before setting it off with a simple ram sign.

Lee smiled as he remembered the hectic week that followed. The younger girl was nothing like his usual teammates. Where Neji and Tenten were quiet and thoughtful, Ino liked to put her own spin on things and let the fires of her youth burn widly. During the deadly game of hide and seek the border the two Konoha ninja practically took turns baiting the enemy and trapping them. Yet as skillful as she was at luring their pursuers out in the open she was equally capable at hiding and setting traps. No doubt a skill she had picked up from her old teammate, the Nara.

The green beast altered his steps to move in time with his prey so that they would no be alerted to his movements. _It must be done. That is what a ninja is for, it is what we are. Tools of death. I am death._ Lee raised the kunai and quickly crossed the gap between him and his unknowing victim. The blade bit into cloth and easily shredded the material in its quest to slice through the jugular. In a smooth motion Lee caught the body and fell back, bringing the Kunai across the throat as he did so in order to prevent his victim from screaming.

Lee's normally bright eyes watched passively as the life drained from his prey. It was not his preferred form of combat, but the situation called for more tact. Red blood poured out from the cut and Lee turned. "One down, a thousand more to go."

The hunter leapt up and continued pursuit of the larger group. Like dumb animals they ignored the drop in their numbers, and those in the lead went ahead unmindful of the losses to their rear.

* * *

Tsunade watched from a tower as civilians came out of their homes armed to the teeth. Small groups formed and took up easily defended positions, while those with bows reported to their assigned post along the wall. The sannin closed her eyes and held her arms straight out, palms facing the forest. Faintly, she felt them. Hundreds, thousands of shinobi of all skill level were coming to finish off the once proud Village of Konoha. 

The healers nose twitched at the smell of tobacco smoke and the Tsunade turned to face her old teammate. "This is going to be messy. We might not survive."

Jiraiya blew out the smoke and looked out at the darkening sky. "It seems a bit early for nightfall. Is a storm coming, now?"

"The first wave has hit our outer posts."

"It would be troublesome if it rained."

Tsunade felt her hands become fists as she looked at the old man. Truly, he was the only one of their group to age well. Orochimaru had gone insane in his search for immortality and she herself had become trapped in a jutsu to preserve her body. Activating the seal on her forhead would give her power, but at the risk of aging faster. "Damn it! Are you listening?! To attack so soon, we are not ready for this!"

Jiraiya's eyes slowly focused on her, and he tapped the ash from his pipe out. "Tsunade-hime. I think you're forgetting something."

"What would that be?" She asked sarcastically.

"We have the will of fire. Quite literally. Nothing will beat it, nothing ever has."

She snorted leaned against the cold stone tower. "I think you're a dreamer. Even with two Jinchuriki, Naruto is harmed by using his and Gaara might kill us all if he goes into his perfect form."

The old hermit shook his head and stretched. "Hime, you're problem is you don't dream enough. I'm going to kill some people, care to make it a date?"

Tsunade blinked and laughed tiredly. He was always one to run away from responsibility or turn things into a game. Now, they were on the brink of war and he was flirting with her. _If this is our last stand, it was a wild ride, and I think it was worth it to see Naruto so happy. Yes. It may have been short, but it was the best thing this village ever did. _"Sure. Care for the first dance?"

"Of course, it'll be fun to surprise those damn rocks." The toad summoner leapt down to the outside of the wall and rushed into the forest, his female comrade close behind.

* * *

Naruto jumped to avoid the massive bolder that appeared out of nowhere, simultaneously cursing at the person who had thrown it. Violet eyes burned as the jinchuriki knelt with his face cradled protectively in his arms. Several kunai and shurikan tore through his jacket and buried themselves in his limbs; streams of blood burst out as veins were severed. Naruto laughed. He braced one hand on the ground and pushed, spinning his body away from the fountain of earth that burst forth in the form of a mouth searching for his body to swallow. Chakra tunneled down his arms forming red transparent armor that lifted the weapons free from the boys body but held them floating in the substance. _C'mon Kyuubi! You wanted blood? We'll give it to them!_

With a mad grin, Naruto held his arms straight, fists clenched, and spun like a top while unleashing a volley of burning projectiles. As he moved, the demonic chakra shot the weapons back in rapid succession as a gun. The blades cut through foliage and flesh equally as Naruto kept turning until his ammunition ran out. Several stone ninja leapt toward him in an attempt to overwhelm the boy with numbers.

Naruto felt his teeth lengthen as he ran to meet the charge, his bare feet tearing up the ground as he yelled in defiance. Emotions ran wild as his mind worked. He didn't hate his opponents, but he wanted them to suffer. He wanted them to beg him for mercy and forgiveness. The boy caught one punch with inhuman speed and twisted roughly. The chunin screamed as Naruto raised one foot and kicked him viciously in the chest while still holding the hand causing the shoulder to pop from the socket. With one quick twist the ninja's arm ripped free from his torso with a squelching sound and he crumpled, dazed, blood squirt out in a rythm as his heart pushed it through and out of his system. Adrenaline coursed through the dying man's body speeding the draining process and leaving his corpse pale in contrast with the ruby ground.

Naruto ducked a sword strike from behind and swung the bleeding arm as if it were a bat, successfully knocking his next opponent off balance. Three of the Iwa nin's had surrounded him as if preparing for some sort of containment jutsu. "Can't have that can we?" Naruto asked himself as his eyes took in the individual hand seals each nin made. "Kage Bushin!"

As Naruto cried out his jutsu three clones, complete with enemy limb raised, appeared behind the three Iwa shinobi and repeatedly beat their heads with the stolen appendage in an attempt to distract them from their technique. It worked. Naruto ran from the group as his clones were destroyed only to be stopped by a Sound nin. Rage burned inside him and he swiped at the man's face. His claws ripped through the mask and left a bloody gouge from the left eye to the mouth. The follow-up punch was blocked, but Naruto was not deterred. He twisted his fist until the grip loosened, then pushed forward to grab the man's wrist and pull him back, biting into his throat as they fell.

Naruto coughed up blood when he tried to push the dead body off, but he had literally been pinned to the ground. "Damn demon!" One of the Iwa nin's yelled as he shoved the katanna deeper into the Sound ninja, Naruto, and the ground. "Cut off his head!"

Panicking, Naruto look around and saw a woman approaching with a large sword. She was a stone shinobi and her grim features made clear that she was determined to finish him off. Growling, Naruto pushed the corpse as far up as he could manage while the Stone nin laughed at their impalement. _Almost…there!_

Naruto winced as he shifted his body to the right, allowing the katana to slice cleanly through his body. The swordswoman cursed as she hit nothing but earth and Naruto staggered to stand while attempting to keep his organs inside with his hand. "Give up boy, that's not something you can live from without a medic nin on hand."

"Say's you…" Naruto coughed and grinned as chakra pooled around his body and his blood boiled. The enemy forces watched in sick fascination as the Uzumaki's intestines slowly pulled themselves back into his body and the frothy blood turned to skin. Naruto crouched on the ground as the healing process ended. As the remaining ninja looked at their opponent, they knew it was the end.

_How do we fight an immortal?_

* * *

Teuchi rubbed his chin and leaned back. He was confident that he held all the cards, and that the Mizukage would have little choice but to acquiesce to his demands. The other man just didn't know it yet. Shino and Tenten stood on either side of Teuchi's chair. Both were silent and composed, though no forehead protector was exposed to show which village they hailed from. It was a poor attempt at deception, for Shino's clan was well known outside of Fire Country and while his attire fit one stereotype in civilian life it marked him as an Aburame in shinobi circles. 

"Mizukage-sama. It is a pleasure to finally meet with you." Teuchi said with an inclination of his head. He didn't hear the quiet shadow steps of Mist elite surrounding the meeting, but he did see Tenten cross her arms and watch a point beyond anything he could see.

The majority of the Mizukage's face was veiled by a white cloth but his eyes betrayed his boredom. Obviously meeting with a civilian was considered a waste of time. The man took his seat across from the drug dealer. "Tell me, Ichiraku, what brings a humble ramen chef from Konoha to request an audience of 'immediate and utmost importance' with me."

_He's trying to impress me with information. He knows both my recent profession and past from that…he wants to intimidate me. _Teuchi smiled politely. "Simple really. I need you to sign over a few small islands to Konoha, as well as a permit acknowledging the right for her people to come and go through the port of Wave."

The eyes flashed dangerously. Kirikagure had suffered greatly during its civil war. Currently, they only possessed a handful of bloodline users, and those were only children that had yet to unlock their inheritance. Furthermore, Mist had an issue or pride when the villages of Cloud and Sound used the country of Water's inner turmoil to expand their own borders. Needless to say, the Mizukage wasn't about to let another rival village take any land. "You speak beyond your station, Old Man."

Even Teuchi, with his ageing and untrained body, could hear the scrape of metal on metal as weapons were unsheathed. As instructed, neither Shino nor Tenten moved. Teuchi merely gestured to a thick folder waiting at a desk. "Despite lacking any formal shinobi training, I have an old friend who owes me some favors. You may or may not remember him. He was known as The Rat back in his youth, and he easily got through your defenses." _That's a lie; it wasn't easy, but Makoto enjoyed the challenge. _"This is only a small portion of the information he managed to compile."

The Mizukage nodded to one of his guards and the masked elite checked the folder for traps. Finding none, he then handed the package over to the Kage who inspected the contents with growing shock.

Teuchi took a breath. This was the moment everything hinged on. "You'll find in there detailed maps – blueprints if you will – of the village and buildings as well as a list of active and retired mist shinobi. As I said before, this is only a small portion of the information he attained, the rest is elsewhere, along with copies of everything you see here."

The younger man closed the folder slowly with a barely contained anger. "Am I to assume you plan is to send the copies to all villages if we don't comply?"

"Perhaps. I only ask you listen to my proposal, doing so will assure that all copies will be burned. Only I and my friend have seen the papers, the two I have with me have not."

"Speak."

"Because of the drop in population, Konoha is looking for an alternative method of income. We have a solution, but it requires cooperation on Kiri's part. By signing over control of these islands…" Teuchi stood and pointed to a map on the far wall. It was old and out of date, but the land masses had not changed much since its creation. "Konoha intends to begin growing certain crops. It should be noted that of the six islands, only one of them is currently in use as a training ground. Konoha is willing to enter into a partnership, and offer 5 profit for the first seven years. After we have finished rebuilding we are willing to increase this to 25."

"Besides land, what would we be contributing to this…partnership."

"Perhaps boats, at the most. Business will be done mostly within Konoha and Wave. A small portion of what is being grown will be directly shipped to hospitals within both Fire and Water."

"Tch." The Mizukage shook his head in the negative. "Tough – the offer is tempting, as I see where it could lead – but I would decline. Our intelligence has uncovered a movement that would put Konoha currently under attack by the combined forces of Stone and Sound. The likely hood of the Leaf surviving this is remote. There would be no point to it."

Teuchi smiled sadly. They found out about the planned attack on their home last week, and Tenten had been screaming to go home and help fight. Shino had argued that they had to complete their mission first. Shino won. In the long run, they wouldn't make much difference and this mission would. "I fear, Mizukage-sama, that you are underestimating Konoha's people."

"What can they do?"

"You would be surprised."

* * *

Shikaku easily redirected the sharp projectiles aimed at himself and his comrades. They had volunteered to be part of the front line defense, mostly because the Nara had been a little tipsy. They would need a few jounin on the front anyway so the Stone wouldn't suspect anything. "Damn. Just where are these guys coming from…" 

Nearby, the shadow master felt the ground shake as his friend utilized the partial mulitsize technique. Grinning, Shikaku lifted a gourd to his mouth and took a drink from its questionable contents. Over the years, it had been forgotten and written off as a myth, but the first Nara to use shadows as a primary weapon was an alcoholic. Shikaku knew this and used it to his advantage as a portion of liquor in the blood when battling increased the speed in which the shadows moved. He had tried to convince his son to try it; after all it wasn't too different from the Akamichi clan always eating on the job, but the boy refused to believe it. _It is where the idea came from. He saw the shadows blur and move when drunk, and thus figured out how to use chakra to do it._

Shikaku knelt down as he felt the presence of shadows all around him. He instinctively knew which belonged to what through a vodka induced haze and quickly took aim for those of his enemy. shadows. "They're fast bastards, I'll give them that." Shikaku had spent so many years perfecting the technique he didn't even need to use seals to do it. "Kageshibari."

Instantly black tendrils jumped from the Nara to the dark shadows of the trees and traveled to their intended targets like heat seeking missiles. Distantly he heard a voice cry out, "Doton: Retsudotensho!"

"Shit! Cho!" Shikaku turned sharply, not caring that the action forced a number of Stone and Sound shinobi to run into tree trunks and fall to the ground. In his intoxicated state, he hardly noticed his body jerk in response to the feedback from the impacts. "Ino! 12 meters to the left!"

Choza cursed as the ground beneath him rippled and became a vortex attempting to pull him down. In this instance, his girth was working to his advantage, and he managed to wedge his staff between the roots of an old tree and use the leverage to prevent him from sinking further, only the staff wasn't meant to be used as such. Stress was building on the weapon and he knew it would break before long. "This is getting difficult!"

Inoshi ran through the branches heading for his target, the ninja supporting the jutsu that was threatening to crush his friend and teammate. "Shinrashin no Jutsu." Using the a family handseal to lock on his target, Inoshi's technique drove the enemy to madness. The ninja dispelled the earth trap long enough for the Akamichi to climb out, before turning it on his own comrades.

The Yamanaka held his technique until Choza arrived and split the Stone ninja's skull wide open with a well placed blow to the head. The two then leapt away from the brain bits, that resembled ground beef, and slowly led the invading shinobi into their trap.

* * *

Jiraiya formed a rasengan in his palm and shoved it in a Sound ninja's chest, ripping muscle and destroying the heart with a single action. _Let's see, that makes…eighty five._ The toad sannin felt his hand spasm and knew that it would be dangerous to make another sphere, so he would have to start varying his jutsu. 

Absently, he jumped and performed a back kick, taking out some low level chunin as his wooden sandals collided with the man's chin. The planks broke, and Jiraiya bemoaned the loss of his favorite pair of footwear. Iwa ninja were much more physically tough than most. It was an annoying fact that the sannin discovered in the war between Konoha and Iwa.

"People, I am the GREAT TOAD HERMIT! This is insulting. Stop sending in all the low rankers!" Jiraiya yelled in frustration as yet another wave of genin and chunin appeared from the branches. The pervert clasped his hands together and whispered, "hari jizo."

His white hair moved as if alive and formed a protective shell of spikes against a barrage of shurikan, kunai, and sebon. _Here we go again._

* * *

Naruto ran through the ranks of ninja like a madman. His claws raked along the flesh of his enemies cutting with ease, even armor did little good when he focused on it. Suddenly, the swarms of shinobi seemed to change tactics and put distance between themselves and the demonic boy destroying their people. 

When several of the defeated began to rise, Naruto understood. It was all a distraction. The majority of those he had been fighting were only animated corpses, fodder until they were ready for their main attack against him.

Above, an Iwa jounin rapidly formed seals and cried out, "Doton: Doryuheki! Kaisei!" A stream of mud poured from the woman's mouth toward Naruto. The boy crouched to avoid the attack, but failed as another ninja forced the ground beneath him to rise and put him in the line of fire. At first it was cold, and Naruto was confident he could brush the mud off, when it suddenly hardened into a mound of stone.

"So this is the great and powerful Jinchuriki of the Ninetales?" Someone said snidely. The Jounin leaned against a tree, her eyes never leaving the struggling Naruto.

"Shut your mouth. Believe it or not, I have to maintain this or he'll break through. This kid has a lot more raw power then you can believe. Where is Orochimaru?!"

Naruto blinked. "Orochimaru? Then that means… Sasuke! Where is that bastard?!"

"Quiet!" A sound nin punched Naruto's exposed face, accidentally cutting his knuckles on the boys fangs. Some of his partners laughed, but the snickering came to an end as an ominous presence walked onto the battlefield. "Orochimaru-sama!"

"Snake bastard…"

Orochimaru smiled at the trapped jinchuriki. "How nice to see you again Naruto-kun. My old teammate is busy dealing with flies, so you see, no one can help you. Not even the fox." As the Snake sannin approached, a purple flame appearing at each fingertip, the small smile grew into a grin. The Iwa woman closed her eyes in concentration and the area around Naruto's stomach returned to mud exposing the seal. It had become blood red and pulsed with a warning to all that the Kyuubi was very much alive. "Gogyo Fuuin!"

Naruto shuddered as Orochimaru hit him with more force than was necessary, applying the elemental seal. The blonde went limp. "Is that it? Is he dead?"

"No. It's just the shock of the Kyuubi's chakra returning to the seal. You can kill him now, he won't be able to regenerate."

"Great." Orochimaru headed toward the village proper as his underlings closed in on the unconscious Naruto.

* * *

Naruto looked around and cursed every god he could think of. "I'm here AGAIN! Dammit!" 

He began his trek through the sewers of his mind. Black mold grew along the brick walls and Naruto knew there was something wrong with his mind. Normally everything was simply wet and smelly, but the mold was like a vein of evil that radiated power. He didn't need to guess where it was originating from.

Naruto sloshed through the water tiredly. He felt drained and exhausted, like someone had just placed a huge weight on his shoulders after going so long without it. The entrance to Kyuubi's chamber glowed with a purple light reminiscent of the fire that formed Orochimaru's seal. Naruto stepped into the room preparing for another argument with the demon, when he stopped in shock.

The seal was not on the gate. Luckily the gate was still there, but only five flames danced around the lock. The Yondaime's seal had disintegrated, leaving only a faint discoloration to mark where it had been. Something lurked in the shadows beyond the bars, but Naruto couldn't see it. He swallowed nervously. "Kyuubi?"

There was a faint reply. "Here."

"Why aren't you, well, yelling at me and calling me a stupid weak human? I kinda need some power right now. I think they're about to put a lot of sharp pointy things in my body."

The presence moved toward the gate and Naruto gasped as the figure was lit by the sealing fire. No longer stood the great figure of the Kyuubi, mighty fox demon, and power incarnate. There was no sea of chakra battering the cage doors or a set of sharp teeth willing to devour the human. In their place was a figure that sent chills down Naruto's spine. Naruto stepped forward, his hand rising as the figure beyond the cage mimicked the action. _It's like…like an evil mirror._

"I'm not evil."

Naruto instantly jumped back. "Stop reading my mind TEME!"

The figure looked down. "Evil is a relative term, you know. Someone who has killed in self defense could be considered evil by the friends of those he killed. Or someone who can only survive by stealing from those with more can be called evil by the standards of the rich. There is only power, and how we use it.

"This is a symbiotic relationship now."

Naruto felt cold metal form in his hand in response to his wish for a weapon in the mindscape. "What are you talking about?"

Kyuubi's new incarnation glanced at the five flames burning around the lock on the great cage. "It's been too long. I couldn't take over my host's body if I wanted to, his personality is the dominate one; I could never leave this cage. However, with the seal destroyed, I can flood his body with my power and influence his thoughts.

"I did not expect this influencing to work both ways. Hence we are now symbiont instead of simply demon and container." Slitted red eyes turned to examine Naruto. The figure behind the cage leaned against the bars and reached out with one hand. "We can win. As Symbiotes one cannot exist without the other, and that is our greatest strength! Help me, Naruto. Help me kill these intruders. Work with me willingly and nothing will stop us."

Naruto froze and stared at the Kyuubi. Truly, if the 'influence' worked both ways there was a visible product. The person reaching for him was the same height as Naruto, with short red hair and gold tips. Red slitted eyes and fangs. Indeed the figure looked almost identical to Naruto, only nine bloody tails hung behind the figure. He wore black jeans, but not shirt or shoes. The Uzumaki glanced down at his own clawed hands and felt his fangs with his tongue. He hadn't thought about it before. _Am I becoming the Kyuubi? He's been changing my thoughts? I…I don't want to be a demon!_

"You are not. You are still human. I am still the demon. Two separate entities, but we have to work together!" Kyuubi looked like he just swallowed a lemon. "Please… there isn't much time. You can regenerate, but not at the required speed without my chakra to back it up."

"Two different people, huh. Forever locked together?"

Kyuubi nodded.

"Then let's do this… partner." Naruto walked forward and took Kyuubi's hand. The demon grinned and pulled Naruto into the cage, wrapping his arms around the boy and completely bypassing the seal Orochimaru had in place. Chakra flooded Naruto's senses as his mind returned to the real world, his stone prison exploding under the pressure as the backlash gave the Jounin maintaining it a heart attack.

* * *

Ino watched from her position at the wall tower. The adrenaline in her system urged her to run – either to or from the battle – but she had to wait. She focused on her breathing to calm down and turned to the east. _There! That's two!_ Further along the wall another Konoha ninja used a mirror to reflect light in her direction. A set of four flashes meant that everyone who had been deployed to the first line had returned, all that could anyway. 

Ino raised her arm and the civilian archers hidden along the wall pulled their fire arrows from the lighting bowls and nocked them. The girl turned her hand, and like a ripple in a pond, the archers along the wall raised their bows one after the other. He was coming. He had to hurry, or else be caught in the flames. Out of the corner of her eye, Ino saw the west wall flash a warning to say that the enemy was almost at the wall and out of the fire range. _Hurry!_

The green blur broke through the lines and hit the safe ground. Ino used a technique that projected her voice all around. "FIRE!" Ino dropped her arm with the action and the archers released with a war whoop. The arrows sailed across the sky, small fireballs that served as both excellent distractions and an ignition of the second defense.

At different points along the wall, a flaming arrow landed in the formerly empty ditch, now filled with oil from the Toads. Flames spread out along the hidden ditches leaping up and burning those standing over them. Ino watched Lee scale the wall and sighed in relief. He made it back before she was forced to order release. "I didn't think it would work after we covered them." An archer commented to the side.

Ino picked up a crossbow and shot at a Sound nin that managed to make it through the firewall. "Misconception. It isn't the oil itself that burns, but the fumes. Since we only covered the ditch with branches and light soil, the fumes made it though and caught, burning through the cover and spreading along the top of the oil. Reload! Stand! Chose your target! FIRE!"

Unlike the first volley, this one was pure arrows without flames. For a trained ninja the arrows were a mere annoyance, but after breaking through a literal wall of fire they were much more than that. Those with an expert aim that managed to hit a vital organ did even more damage. Still, many of the enemy made it through the rain of arrows and began making it around the wall. Ino watched and decided they only had time for one last volley.

"Stand! Look down! Select target and…FIRE!" _That knocked a couple off. They'll be more careful about scaling the wall now._ "Groups A through D, retreat to your inner positions! E and F, back up those guarding the children!"

Like trained soldiers, the archers shouldered their bows and slid down the ropes prepared for their retreat. Some went to empty houses and hid in windows, others on top of buildings and still others simply vanished. The trained shinobi took their place, and Ino discarded the crossbow she had taken up in favor of more traditional shinobi weapons.

"Ino-san!"

"Glad to see you made it, Lee. Things are just about to get busy."

* * *

Sound and Stone shinobi screamed as the heat from the never ending field of fire fried their lungs and peeled away their skin. Some stopped before entering the field at the noise, only to regret the decision as an extremely powerful entity appeared behind them. 

Thousands of the creatures, each expressing the same rage as the last, flushed the invading ninja toward the hungry flames searching for the one that betrayed them. It was a creature none of them ever heard of, a wicked amalgum of different animals with a hint of human. It was twice the size of a horse. Two burning eyes seemed to swallow the souls of those who found themselves caught in it's gaze. It balanced on four legs, the front two equipped with foot long claws and the back resembling that of a wild cat. Multiple tails swished and blurred into one another making it impossible to count their number. Ocasionally it ran on it's hind legs, but mostly it leapt to it's victims, and devored them. To accommodate the six inch canine's decorating it's mouth it would unhinge the jaw like a snake and swallow shinobi whole or in pieces. Those that attempted to flee the creatures found themselves pinned by spider like legs that would burst seemingly on their own from the chakra based fur.

A terrible choice. To be burned alive, or eaten alive?

* * *

The girl yelled and moved away from the angry man trying to kill her, though admittedly she wanted to kill him just as much. Her large sword whistled as she moved it through the air with jerky swings. A torrent of water burst from her opponent's mouth and she dropped her weapon in surprise as the jutsu encased her in a sphere of water. Panicking, she swallowed several mouthfuls of her prison. 

"Nee-chan!" The enemy shinobi turned to see a set of knitting needles fly through the air and drive straight through his eyes and into his brain. He dropped dead, and so did the Jutsu. A woman knealt down, her face reveiling disgust as she attempted to pull her impromptu weapons from the skull. Her needles left a slight poppong sound as they dislouged from the man's head, but she nearly threw up when she saw that his eyeballs still remained on them, turning the knitting tools into some sort of macabre kabob.

The swordswoman fell to the ground and coughed up some water. "You okay? You look a little pale... Let's get out of here before more show up." The girl batted her older sister's hands away and picked up the broadsword from where she dropped it.

"Yeah." The older woman looked around, impressed and a little disturbed that the baby of the family managed to take out two Sound nin all by herself. Blood littered the streets like it had so few months ago, but this time they were strangers. She didn't know the names of the dead, and she really didn't want to. Steeling her courage, the woman closed her hands around the accusing eyeballs and jerked them from her weapons of choice.

* * *

Kakashi ran through the village, moving like the lightening his personal technique was named after, as he fought the Stone nin. He moved through the enemy faster than he remembered, but with Obito's sharingan it was easy to compensate. The offspring of Konoha's white fang was a bit confused why so many armed civilians were out but he didn't need to save nearly as many as he thought he would. 

There was one with throwing daggers the Hatake judged to be jounin level, but his taijutsu was too poor to even be considered an academy graduate. Obviously something had changed while he was away.

"Shinobi-san!" A man cried to get his attention as he blocked a kunai with a bat and jabbed his elbow into the Sound nin behind. "I saw two cloaked ninja roof-hop that way. Black with red clouds!"

"Cloaked shinobi? With red clouds?"

"Yes!" The man spun and managed to kick a ninja in the chest, but the person was much more skilled than him and caught the foot while breaking it with practiced motion. "Hurry! Jiraiya-sama said they had to be stopped at all cost if they were sighted!" The civilian ignored the pain and took a cleaver from the ground, swiping at his enemy and forcing the ninja back. He hopped awakwardly and crouched facing the man.

_The sannin? _"I'm on it!"

* * *

"ITACHI!" Sasuke screamed as he saw his brother and his blue partner leap over and away from the fighting. _He's running like a coward!_ Snarling Sasuke blurred and reappeared before the two Akatsuki members. His katana was bared and he watched his brother through full Sharingan eyes. 

"Oh man. Itachi, can't you do something with this pest? He always appears at the worst moments." Kisame grumbled and gripped the handle of Samehada.

"You go on. I'll deal with him." Itachi spoke coolly as he sized up his younger brother. "You've grown Sasuke. However; this much is not natural, have you been doing drugs? Didn't mother and father teach you anything? Just say no."

"Shut up. I've waited my whole life for this day." Chakra wrapped around the blade Sasuke held and a faint buzzing and popping noise echoed above the sound of fighting.

"I'm curious, foolish little brother, what is it like taking orders from Orochimaru? Have you understood that only by killing what you hold most dear can you attain the Magenkyo?"

Sasuke answered with a lunge, his weapon cutting the air leaving behind the smell of ozone. Itachi dodged and danced around the swings suddenly spinning and releasing two kunai that deflected a pair thrown by Sasuke far earlier. "Tsk. Tsk. I invented that technique, though I don't remember teaching you."

"You didn't teach me anything." Was that a tear in the corner of the young Uchiha's eye? "You always said next week; later. Do you realize that you never even spent the day with me. Even when you volunteered to go to my Academy entrance ceremony father went instead of you. You didn't care!"

Itachi gasped as his arm seized in pain, and he was barely able to dodge the fireballs that leapt from Sasuke's mouth. He rolled along the tiles of the roof, before applying the Chakra needed to stop. _Something is wrong! I need to get away from him…_

"No you don't!" Twin snakes burst forth from Sasuke's sleeve and blocked the roof. Itachi gave a resigned sigh and turned his gaze on Sasuke, Uchiha blood limit at the max. The three commas' blended together, but Sasuke was ready for it. He closed the distance in a second by powering his legs with chakra, and turned at the last possible moment so his back faced Itachi.

Itachi Uchiha privately thought that Sasuke's technique was stupid. He still had the boy trapped in his genjutsu, it didn't matter if he was facing him or not. The katana charged with energy suddenly grew and crossed the few feet separating the two Uchiha, nearly skewering the older.

"Nice try. But this is where I…" _The chidori?_

Kakashi barreled into view, the Chidori bright in his hands and screaming warning to everyone in the area. Itachi's eyes widened as he saw the chakra in and around the jounin reach its limits. _I didn't think he would be so stupid as to try this._

Sasuke felt the genjutsu fall and he turned to see his old sensei, looking like the scarecrow his was named after, charge toward them at full speed. _What the hell is he doing?_

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as his breath was coming in shorter gasps. _Black cloak, with red clouds. Black cloak, red clouds._

"He's mine to kill!" Sasuke roared and moved to intercept his sensei. Itachi's mind whirled at the turn of events, and the pain in his arm began traveling to his heart. Everything blurred, and his chest hurt. Itachi crouched with one hand clutching his cheat. Sasuke turned his head and unconsciously whispered, "Nii-san?"

"That's it. Then. Damn." Itachi felt his heart stop and nothing was going to start it again. He had a minute at most before the lack of oxygen shut his brain down. He wasn't going to have even that.

As Kakashi approached the air around Sasuke seemed to shimmer in the Hatake's eyes. He saw himself standing there, standing over the dead body of his father after killing himself. _You could have stopped it._ "CHIDORI!"

Sasuke gasped as the lightening broke the blade he brought up to block, pierced his lung, and easily cut through Itachi's heart. Itachi fell to the ground, blood pooling around as Kakashi jerked his arm free of Sasuke's torso. Sasuke felt light headed, and staggered away from his sensei with shock written on his face. He didn't think the man would actually harm him.

Kakashi looked around once and fell dead, soon rolling to a stop beside Itachi's corpse. The final attack had taken all his chakra, all his life force to perform.

* * *

Hinata finished off the Stone nin she was fighting by sending a palm of chakra to his heart. Before his body could fall, she grabbed his wrist and draped his larger body over her back, effectively forming a human shield from the spikes of earth that were coming towards her position. Blood dribbled out of the corpse's mouth and began to sting her eyes. 

Using her byakugan, she could see the man in the next building aiming his bow at the Stone nin throwing the jutsu at her. The man drew the string to his cheek with expert grace, and Hinata recognized the armor piecing head attached to the arrow. It flew through the air and bored into its target's spine, causing the body to thrash about before completely dieing.

Obstacle destroyed, Hinata shrugged her shoulders and dropped the body. Her back was covered in the blood of her victim that ironically came not from her attack, but its comrades. The girl pulled a dagger from her sleeve and rushed down the street finding the clusters of civilians that were fighting back and assisting them.

"Fuujin! Raijin!" Hinata called to gain the brothers attention. The energy leaking off of them was disturbing, and the young girl didn't like the look in their eyes. Blood dripped from Raijin's mouth and he held a human leg in his hand.

"Oh. Hinata-san!" Raijin looked down and hid the body part behind his back. "You wouldn't tell Tsunade-sama would you?"

The Hyuuga noted that the leg belonged to an Iwa ninja. If they hadn't started eating their own teammates then there was nothing to be worried about. At least that was what she told herself. Oni-sama would approve of it. _Wouldn't he? It is funny, in a way. _"What are you two doing?"

Hinata spun and kicked at the shinobi trying to come up from the ground and attack her. He crumpled under the force of her chakra enhanced kick. It was a wonder the man made it as far as he did. She scanned the area for more playthings and was disapointed to find none.

Fuujin held up a watermelon. "We're guarding the storehouse! Smart, huh? They've already tried to set it on fire three times! This is hungry work…"

She smiled at them, though the effect was hampered by the blood flowing down her face. "Good job! Well, if you don't need any help, I'll be off."

She ran from the scene and ended up linking up with Kiba. The two of them fought through the streets trusting the civilians to keep the houses clear. The Inuzuka stiffened and Hinata sighed as she was forced to twirl around him and fight off two attacking Sound ninja. Kiba started shaking. "Hinata, he's here."

The girl ducked a lethal wave of chakra enforced wind and struck with her daggers, slicing through the ninja's stomach. Acid poured out and Hinata back flipped while tossing her second dagger out to distract the remaining enemy. "Who?" She had some thoughts, and it had to be someone Kiba had met before. Either it was Sasuke, unlikly as the boy had never caused her teammate to grow nervous, or Orochimaru. The thought of the snake daring to come so far into her terrority forced her face to flush with anger. She needed to kill something else.

Akamaru bit Kiba's hand, succeeding in snapping his master out of his panic. "Orochimaru! I can smell him, he's been here."

"Damn. I thought he might come but… where's Tsunade-hime?" The slug princess sould deal with the traitor. Though skilled Hinata didn't believe she was ready to face someone with so much more experince than her, added to fact he probably knew much about her family style didn't help the argument. Frustrated, she almost missed the enemy heading toward their poistion. Hinata knealt close to the ground, months of teamwork drills overriding her thoughts, and felt the brief weight that signaled Kiba's foot leaving her back.

He had used Hinata as a springboard and leapt up to cut off the head of a shinobi preparing to attack them on a rooftop. With the threat dealt with the two moved on, picking up stray kunai and shurikan to replace those they lost on the way. "You know, one of these days we really ought to go through the forest with a metal detector... I mean even if it's all rusty the price for scrap alone..."

Hinata Hyuuga giggled. They came to an intersection closer to the outer wall and grinned. They had known it was an ambush, but headed for it anyway. What was life without risk? Hinata and Kiba faced each outher back to back, Akamaru balanced delicatly on his masters head waiting. Bloodlust thrummed through their veins. With an inhuman shout they broke apart.

Hinata worked around one nin's defenses and took out his arms, before leaping to avoid another. She spun in the air and lashed out with her dagger, and woudl have missed if not for the chakra that wrapped around and lengthened the blade. Upon landing she grinned and kicked, several images flashing through her mind. _Draw them closer..._

Kiba was having a blast. Akamaru had assumed his form and the two were vanishing and appearing at random throughly confusing the portion of invades that had chosen to come after them. _Are we one, or two? They don't know! _The dog user used the replacement technique and appeared beneath one of them. _This is gonna hurt you a heck of a lot more than it's gonna hurt me._ He pulled his leg up to his chest adn rammed it with accuracy in apoint most considered out of bounds.

"YOU LITTLE FUCK!!!"

Kiba grinned and quickly cut the mans ankles with a kunai before vanishing once again.

* * *

Tsunade and Jiraiya each stood atop old towers watching their foes. Orochimaru had already summoned a duo of giant snakes to help him against his former teammates, and now it was simply a waiting game. The slug princess shifted her weight and prepared to jump toward her enemy, when she suddenly felt the presence of an ally. "You should clear the area; our fights always seem to lead to massive collateral damage." 

"Forgive me, Tsunade-sama but I think I'll stay as back up." Iruka Umino replied. He knew he was no where near Sannin level, not even Jounin, but there were a few things he was good at. It wasn't like he was only one that decided to stay near, just in case.

"Orochimaru! I'm will see that you die this day!" Anko crouched on a rooftop closer to Jiraiya, clutching her shoulder in pain. Her cursed seal was activating and causing great pain but the kunoichi refused to retreat. She would see her former master's downfall and revel in it!

"Anko-chan. Sorry to disappoint you, but I won't lose here." Orochimaru replied as his snakes hissed and coiled around the buildings his fellow Sannin stood upon. Jiraiya jumped and bit his thumb, running it along the length of the giant snake as he fell. "Kuchiyose!" Thousands of small toads appeared with a cloud of smoke all along the reptile. Each cried out and began harassing it in one way or another as their master aimed for Orochimaru.

Tsunade flipped off her own building, and came crashing down on the snake that had targeted her. The heels of her sandals broke from the impact, and the brown snakes head collided with the ground dazing it. Kicking off her shoes, the former Hokage rushed Orochimaru from the side, all the while creating handseals in an order he did not recognize. Jiraiya did, and retreated from his opponent with a well placed phoenix fireball.

"ANKO!" Tsunade yelled as she finished the last seal, standing no more than five feet from the man who betrayed and attacked their home.

Anko bit her lip and fought the pain. Whatever the jutsu Tsunade was attempting she needed her. The Mitarashi quickly moved over to the other woman and felt her hand be ripped from her shoulder and pressed to the ground. Foreign chakra poured through Anko's body, and she began to shake as memories of the curse seal surfaced. "It hurts."

"Stay with me, Anko. Kuchiyose: Yato-no-kami!!"

All around the rooftop puffs of gray smoke announced the arrival of…something. Orochimaru looked around and gasped as he saw thousands of tiny decaying snakes appear and head toward him. _A double summoning?! But those can't work if the contracts are different!_ Anko shuddered and felt Iruka cradle her against his chest and leave the field. "Mmm. No. Have to, see."

The teacher looked down. "I understand. We still need to get out of the way. I don't know what Tsunade-sama did, but I think she used your snake connection to bring something here. I've never seen them before." The woman turned her head to watch the battle, faintly noting that her seal no longer hurt.

Orochimaru backed up as the tiny corpse snakes moved toward him as a wriggling mass of worms. Venom dripped from their mouths and ate through the concrete; even Tsunade had retreated from the area. The previously summoned snakes let out a shriek as they smelled the smaller ones and vanished. _What are these?_

"_This is where you finally die, Orochi-kun. These are not the usual animal lords your friend has summoned. These are GODS. Gods of death…gods of famine…they are your undoing."_

"I will not die here. I am the Master of Snakes. I hold the scroll!" Orochimaru cried and quickly summoned several fire vipers to burn the monsters surrounding him. The vipers flicked their tongues and spasmed once the scent of their enemies reached them. One fell under the undead bodies and was quickly devoured. Fire did not harm the creatures. "Impossible!"

"_You know…I'm out of here. My grandmother once said these things poison the land they inhabit for years and will steal the soul they capture for endless torment."_

_Gen'yumaru? Wait! How do you defeat them? _

Orochimaru screamed as minute fangs sunk nipped at an ankle, drawing out his very chakra. The Sannin kicked the thing away and tried to avoid the creatures but Jiraiya kept him pinned.

It was not to be a pleasant or a quick death.

Temari rested her fan against the ground and glanced down the street. A few buildings had been torn up, but for the most part their new home remained whole. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and sat on some rubble. The smell of ash was heavy in the air, and she longed for a bath.

"Temari?" Asked a rough, tired voice.

The girl sighed and turned to the person, and froze. "N-naruto?!"

The boy tilted his head, causing blonde-red-tipped hair to fall in front of his face. His eyes were nearly red with a blue ring and slits. The whisker marks had faded, but were replaced by a much more obvious mark of his demon. Behind him a single red tail swept back and forth as if it had a mind of its own. Naruto shuffled over to the older girl, his eyelids dropping. "I'm…really…sleepy."

"Naruto! Someone get help!" Temari screamed as he fainted into her arms, face planted between her breasts.

**THE END!!**

**Revised July 18, 2007**

**Kudos go out to Ashmo, Justin, and Islaglatt. They did the job of beta wonderfully.**

**A/N- Without the note, this chapter is 7,918 words. It could have been longer, but I refrain from giving everyone a fight scene. Not only would it be too much trouble to think of them, but that would make this span 20+ pages. It's already on 13. I'll let you wonderful people use your own imaginations as to how the other battles went. I thought about having a scene where Udon uses his chakra spear to create a wall of earth to protect the little kids, but… naw. Kisame has left the village. In an off camera shot he witnessed Naruto, surrounded by Chakra, walk straight through the firewall. Itachi is dead. He won't be coming back. Sasuke isn't quite dead, and if Kabuto manages to get to him fast enough he won't die. I was thinking about a third installment, but I don't know. I want to finish other stories first.**

**Lets see, Tsunade's technique is what I like to think of as a Team Summons. Basically it's an altered way of summoning that would have been written in the Scroll of Seals, which both Jiraiya and Tsunade have seen. The person performing the technique uses another as a medium and can summon anything they wish associated with that animal. For instance, if this was a crossover she could force Kakashi to summon Inuyasha. Or Gai to summon the ninja turtles. ****The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!!! God that was such an awful movie! XD**

**I was looking up Yokai on wikipedia after watching 'The Great Yokai War'. This is what wikipedia had to say on Yato-no-Kami: Deadly snake gods infesting a field. So in my head that translated into snake Shinigami that kill everything they come into contact with. **


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